On my list of top 5 movies of all time is an Italian subtitled film by director Roberto Benigni called Life Is Beautiful, a film set against the background of the second world war. For those of you who refuse to see a film if it’s subtitled… SHUT UP AND WATCH IT. It is one of the most powerful, effective and engaging films ever made. Pure beauty.
Now Benigni is turning his creative talents towards the war in Iraq. There are few people who I believe could approach this project and look at it from a human point of view and yet make you laugh despite the tragedy unfolding around it. This was the true triumph of Life is Beautiful, and what gives a project of this nature a chance at being something truly special.
The Goliaths over at IMDB give us this:
In the film Benigni will take the lead role of a poet who gets caught up in events in Iraq in March 2003 when the US launched its attack on Saddam Hussein’s regime. He tells Italian radio. “War naturally is the background of the film and my character is directly involved in it after this poet ends up in Iraq by pure chance. What is extraordinary is his vision of the world. This is one person representing all the people in the world.”
It’s rare that people with such talent are willing to approach this kind of subject matter… especially when it revolves around a topic that is so hotly debated amongst such divided opinions. Heck, everyone agrees the Holocaust is bad, Nazis are bad, the devil is bad… but this one is more tricky and history has yet to render it’s opinion. I can’t wait to see what Benigni can do with this.
Ok, here are some…
The movie name will be “La Tigre e la Neve” (The Tiger and the Snow), it’s written by Vincenzo Cerami (screenwriter of all Benigni’s Movies) and off course will star Roberto and his wife Nicoletta Braschi in the leading roles (there also will be Jean Reno).
He’s already shooting in Rome.
P.S. If you want info about other good italian Movies, contact me…(Italian Cinema has got very much problems, but sometimes you can find a movie as good as “Life is Beautiful”)
I’m Italian.
Life is Beautiful (La Vita √® Bella) was a real great movie (but if you can try to put your hands on some of the previous movies of Benigni, i suggest “Johnny Stecchino” or “Il Piccolo Diavolo” with Walter Matthau).
I’m not sure this new project will be as good as LIB, because Roberto’s last (Pinocchio) was nearly terrible…but i hope so!
If you want i can give new informations about this project when they comes out in Italy.
monk,
I’m looking forward to his film as well, “Life is Beautiful” was a wonderful and I can’t wait to see how he approaches this one.
I won’t argue the Iraq war issue any more, but I will say that radical Islam is right now the greatest threat to the entire planet.
Vic
yes your arguments have some truths, but you have to admit, although the muslims were conquering the other countries they did not wipe out the other culture or race.
on the other hand, spanish conquerors spreading christianity wiped out the incans, aztecs etc and other natives cultures in south america.
what about the american indians in our own country? we wiped them out in the name of God as well. we subjugated them and drove them out of their god given land.
and dont forget, we dropped not one but two atomic bombs on another country. no other countries have done that. i rather we nuke the nazis but …
anyway, the thing is the war in iraq is not about islam. the conflict there was about WMDs. thats it. but as we now know, that wasnt the real case behind that war at all, it was about oil.
its not even democracy. if anyone is interested to check out objectively, iraq is the only democracy in the middle east, they had parliment, they had women in the governments, women dont have to wear the burqa in iraq. they have voting rights. (check with the cia database online)
ironically saudi arabia which is not a democracy, where women dont have any rights are consider as friend of america?
check out the political structure in iraq before the war please.
anyway democratic muslim countries such as turkey and malaysia proves that islam and democracy does work. and these countries are friends to america.
i hope we can stop arguing about who is right and who is wrong now. the thing is, history and the world will be judge us.
however again the war in iraq is not about islam.
i am looking forward to watching roberto’s work on this.
John,
The crusades were in response to the spread of Islam through war. Muslims were conquering country after country and subjugating those who did not convert.
Also, with Islam that is still going on today in Muslim countries. Living in Syria, Pakistan or other countries as a non-Muslim is a terrible existence.
I’m pretty sure the crusades are over. :-)
As far as the American version, Islam as a religion can (and does) exist in democratic societies.
If you really want to get into some heated debates on this topic, I suggest you visit the political section of Blogcritics.org.
Cheers,
Vic
P.S. I highly suggest the book “Onward Muslim Soldiers” for some deep, documented background on radical Islam.
Yeah, but can Benigni get more laughs than Bush did claiming Saddam had WMDs?
True…. but here’s the other deal:
“Christian” crusaders basically propposed the same options to the Islamic world.
1. Convert
2. Submit
3. Die
As a matter of fact (and I know I’m tipping my political leanings here), it appears to be the exact same options Bush (not the USA) is offering the Islamic world today.
1. Convert (To Western Democracy)
2. Submit (To American control or policy)
3. Die (Occupation and bombings under the false pretenses that you’re amassing WMDs)
Hence, the other side of the coin. Just my two cents worth. Disucssion is good. Cheers.
Here’s the deal…
Radical Islam’s basic tenet of Jihad (a foundational belief repeated over and over again in the Qu’ran) gives non-Muslims three choices:
1. Convert.
2. Submit and live as a second class citizen with a fraction of their civil rights.
3. Die.
Sure, in their minds they’re doing what God wills, but that doesn’t qualify as a side of the coin to me. Not by a longshot.
Vic
it is hard to accept that we can be bad or evil.
it is always easy to say that others are evil.
the british public sincerely didnt think they were evil but they ultimately conqured, subjugated and plundered alot of other races and countries.
so did spain, france etc etc.
i dont think even the nazis look at themselves as the bad or evil guys.
iraq is an interesting case certainly because public oppinion is 50-50 in most cases…
heres a prespective, what if the chinese red army decide to come over and conquer america in search of WMDs, and they come to free us of the evil of nukes to make the world safe. and they come over here without UN approval or support.
wouldnt we react in a similar way to iraqi people to resist?
liberators or occupiers?
its just different side of the same coin.
it is hard to accept that we can be bad or evil.
it is always easy to say that others are evil.
the british public sincerely didnt think they were evil but they ultimately conqured, subjugated and plundered alot of other races and countries.
so did spain, france etc etc.
i dont think even the nazis look at themselves as the bad or evil guys.
iraq is an interesting case certainly because public oppinion is 50-50 in most cases…
heres a prespective, what if the chinese red army decide to come over and conquer america in search of WMDs, and they come to free us of the evil of nukes to make the world safe. and they come over here without UN approval or support.
wouldnt we react in a similar way to iraqi people to resist?
liberators or occupiers?
its just different side of the same coin.