I remember hating the first half of the movie, mainly because I didn't get Roberto Benigni's style of humor. But once I realized what the film was doing, I was floored. Awards don't always go to films for entertainment value, often films get awards for their social value. Does a film tackle an important issue in a way no other film has?

This one did. I can't think of a single other film that dove into the Holocaust but in a way that makes us feel good & shows the power of positivity... the concentration camp victim is not a victim. Nor does he fight back with violence. He protects the kid by refusing to let the Nazis break his spirit.

This is the movie that made me a fan of Benigni, and after watching his other films I see it's his trademark to take on really dark DARK topics but show how humor (positivity) prevails. Il Mostro is about a brutal sexual predator/killer, Tiger and the Snow is about a woman slowly dying after getting hit by a bomb in Iraq, etc. And yet these movies make us laugh (and not in a sarcastic dark comedy way).

@rooprect said:

I remember hating the first half of the movie, mainly because I didn't get Roberto Benigni's style of humor. But once I realized what the film was doing, I was floored. Awards don't always go to films for entertainment value, often films get awards for their social value. Does a film tackle an important issue in a way no other film has?

This one did. I can't think of a single other film that dove into the Holocaust but in a way that makes us feel good & shows the power of positivity... the concentration camp victim is not a victim. Nor does he fight back with violence. He protects the kid by refusing to let the Nazis break his spirit.

This is the movie that made me a fan of Benigni, and after watching his other films I see it's his trademark to take on really dark DARK topics but show how humor (positivity) prevails. Il Mostro is about a brutal sexual predator/killer, Tiger and the Snow is about a woman slowly dying after getting hit by a bomb in Iraq, etc. And yet these movies make us laugh (and not in a sarcastic dark comedy way).

I've seen the film and admire it. I prefer to think of it as hope prevailing.