Foreign Films (beyond Hollywood)

LA VITA E BELLA / LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

This movie is a comedy about or to be precise during Holocaust. I know I know it’s hard to believe! How can there be a comedy about the most horrible incident in history?                        But Roberto Benigni (actor/director/writer) did it. He has made a wonderful mixture of comedy, romance, tragedy and war.  Trust me you will laugh, smile and cry at the same time.

In the first part of the movie, Guido (Roberto Benigni) comes to live and work with his Uncle and in this town falls in love with Dora whom he calls Princepessa (Princess). The first part is entire comedy about how Guido tries to woo Dora involving the much travelled hat, the key, and the 7 seconds. HAHAHA, you’ll understand when you see the movie. The movie skips 5 years where we see Guido and Dora married with a beautiful son Joshua.

In the second part, the Holocaust part starts and Guido and Joshua being Jews are taken away by the Fascists while Dora (not Jew) gets on train to be with her family. Guido concocts an elaborate story to comfort his son: he explains that if they did exactly what Germans said they would get 1000points. He hides his son from the guard (making it sound like a game) because all Jew children were to be killed. Some scenes in this make you smile through your tears.

It’s a wonderful Italian movie and it also won Oscar for the best foreign language film in 1999. Roberto Benigni was just absolutely marvelous in the movie and did a great job off screen in making this Holocaust comedy. Do watch it.

AMELIE (2001)

It’s an honest, artistic, feel good kind of movie which either you are going to love or you may find it horribly boring and dull. It all depends on your perception. If you like two watch movies which are full of spice, action, drama, and twist & turns, then this Oscar nominee for best foreign film, is not your cup of tea.

The plot is very simple, Amelie, an innocent and naive girl in Paris, with her own sense of justice, decides to help those around her and along the way, discovers love. She helps other and this do have its hilarious moments.

I watched this movie in French only with English subtitles of course. And I liked it, a break from regular kind of movies. And I really liked the actress of the film, her reactions were superb. Rest I can’t really explain the movie, you got a gist of the idea of this picture so judge yourself.

CINEMA PARADISO

I loved it. I loved it. I loved it. And it’s impossible that you won’t like this 1989 Oscar winner. The movie begins when a famous director, Salvatore gets the news of death of an old friend back home. He starts reminiscing his childhood and youth. As a little boy Salvatore aka Toto loved movies and befriends the town projectionist Alfredo. This actor who plays Toto did a brilliant job and is so so so cute.  Toto learns to work the projector from Alfredo and forms a deep bond with him. Alfredo guides Toto about his career, ambition, love and he in the end of the movie force him to leave the town and never look back again. Toto falls madly in love with movies from childhood only, and when h comes off age he falls in love with a girl named Elena. But Elena vanishes from his life and Toto is heartbroken. While leaving his town he is asked by Alfredo to never come back or even write back. Alfredo missed him terribly but doesn’t want Toto to end up like he did.

 Salvatore comes back from for the funeral and asks about Alfredo who had left him a gift. Also he looks at his childhood possessions and a video of Elena he had made when he was young. The gift of Alfredo almost brought tears to my eyes.

There are very minor incidents in the movie that will leave an impression on you. And the movie will definitely make you nostalgic. The movie is sometimes funny, sometimes joyful, sometimes poignant hat makes you laugh, sentimental (not weepy), and think about life and relations and bonds. It’s a wonderful movie that I can watch over and over again and so will you. If you will take my advice then watch it in Italian only with English subtitles because you would not want to change anything about the movie not even the voice of the characters.