View source for Life Is Beautiful

{{Short description|1997 Italian film by Roberto Benigni}}
{{About|the 1997 Italian film|other uses|Life Is Beautiful (disambiguation)}}
{{Redirect|La vita è bella|other uses|La vita è bella (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Life Is Beautiful
| image          = Vitaebella.jpg
| alt            = 
| caption        = English-language release poster
| director       = [[Roberto Benigni]]
| producer       = [[Gianluigi Braschi]]<br>[[Elda Ferri]]
| writer         = Roberto Benigni<br>[[Vincenzo Cerami]]
| starring       = {{Plainlist|
* Roberto Benigni
* [[Nicoletta Braschi]]}}
| music          = [[Nicola Piovani]]
| cinematography = [[Tonino Delli Colli]]
| editing        = [[Simona Paggi]]
| studio         = Melampo Cinematografica
| distributor    = [[Mario Cecchi Gori|Cecchi Gori Group]] (Italy)<br>[[Miramax Films]] (International)
| released       = {{Film date|df=y|1997|12|20|Italy}}
| runtime        = 116 minutes<!--Theatrical runtime: 116:25--><ref>{{cite web |title=''La Vita E Bella (Life Is Beautiful)'' (12A) |url=https://bbfc.co.uk/releases/la-vita-e-bella-life-beautiful-1970 |work=[[Buena Vista International]] |publisher=[[British Board of Film Classification]] |date=26 November 1998 |access-date=23 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131231003345/http://www.bbfc.co.uk/releases/la-vita-e-bella-life-beautiful-1970|archive-date=31 December 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>
| country        = Italy
| language       = Italian<!--Do not add German and English, as per Template:Infobox_film only the primary language used in the film should be included-->
| budget         = [[Italian lira|Lit.]] 15 billion<ref>{{Cite web |title=La vita è bella: crolla il fienile di "Buongiorno Principessa", appello a Roberto Benigni |url=https://movieplayer.it/news/la-vita-e-bella-crolla-fienile-buongiorno-principessa-roberto-benigni_92920/ |access-date=2023-08-11 |website=Movieplayer.it |language=it}}</ref> (~ 12.8 million [[Euro|€]])
| gross          = $230.1&nbsp;million<ref name="mojo"/>
}}

'''''Life Is Beautiful''''' ({{langx|it|La vita è bella}}, {{IPA|it|la ˈviːta ɛ ˈbɛlla|pron}}) is a 1997 Italian [[period drama|period]] [[comedy-drama]] film directed by and starring [[Roberto Benigni]], who co-wrote the film with [[Vincenzo Cerami]]. Benigni plays Guido Orefice, a [[Italian Jews|Jewish Italian]] bookshop owner, who employs his imagination to shield his son from the horrors of internment in a [[Nazi concentration camp]]. The film was partially inspired by the book ''[[In the End, I Beat Hitler]]'' by [[Rubino Romeo Salmonì]] and by Benigni's father, who spent two years in the [[Bergen-Belsen concentration camp]] during [[World War II]].

The film was an overwhelming critical and commercial success. Despite some criticisms of using the subject matter for comedic purposes, it received widespread acclaim, with critics praising its story, performances and direction, and the union of drama and comedy. The movie grossed over $230&nbsp;million worldwide, including $57.6 million in the United States, is the second-highest-grossing foreign-language film in the U.S. (after ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'')<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.rttnews.com/slideshow/3671/top-grossing-foreign-films-in-us-crouching-tiger-la-cage-aux-folles-postino-life-is-beautiful-fearless.aspx?Slide=9 |title= Top grossing foreign films in the US |website= RTT News}}</ref> and one of the [[List of highest-grossing non-English films|highest-grossing non-English-language movies of all time]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wonderslist.com/10-highest-grossing-non-english-movies/ |title=Top 10 Highest Grossing Non-English Movies of All Time |last=John |first=Adriana |website=Wonderslist |date=21 September 2016 |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> The [[National Board of Review]] included it in the top five best foreign films of 1998.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-years/1998/ |title= 1998 Archives |website=National Board of Review}}</ref>

The movie won the [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Prix]] at the [[1998 Cannes Film Festival]], nine [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]] (including [[David di Donatello for Best Film|Best Film]]), five [[Nastro d'Argento]] Awards in Italy, two [[European Film Awards]], and three [[71st Academy Awards|Academy Awards]], including [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]] and [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for Benigni, the first for a male non-English performance.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://marymanning.net/lingua-e-cultura/roberto-benigni-dante-is-beautiful/ |title= Roberto Benigni: Dante is Beautiful |website= Mary Manning |access-date= 20 November 2020 |archive-date= 24 February 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20210224094155/https://www.marymanning.net/lingua-e-cultura/roberto-benigni-dante-is-beautiful/ |url-status= dead }}</ref>

==Plot==
 <!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summary should be between 400 to 700 words. -->
; Part I
In 1939, in [[Fascist Italy]], young [[History of the Jews in Italy|Italian Jew]] Guido Orefice arrives to work in [[Arezzo]], [[Tuscany]], with his uncle Eliseo in a hotel restaurant. He is comical and sharp, and falls in love with the gentile girl Dora. Later, Guido sees her again in the city where she is a teacher and set to be engaged to Rodolfo, a rich but arrogant local government official with whom he regularly clashes. Guido sets up many "coincidental" incidents to show his interest in Dora.

Eventually, Dora gives in to Guido's affection and promise. Guido steals her from her engagement party on Uncle Eliseo's horse, Robin Hood, humiliating Dora's fiancé and mother. They are later married, have a son, Giosuè, and run a bookstore. Dora's mother visits once, meeting her grandson.

; Part II
In 1944, at the height of [[World War II]], [[Nazi Germany]] occupies [[Italian Social Republic|Northern Italy]]. Guido, his uncle Eliseo, and Giosuè are arrested on Giosuè's birthday. They and many other Italian Jews are forced onto a train bound for a concentration camp. After confronting a guard about her husband and son and being told there is no mistake, Dora insists on boarding the train to stay with her family.

However, as men and women are separated in the camp, Dora never sees her family during their internment. Guido pulls off various stunts, such as hijacking the camp's loudspeaker to send messages, symbolic or literal, to Dora to assure her that he and Giosuè are safe. Eliseo is murdered in a [[gas chamber]] shortly after their arrival. Giosuè narrowly avoids being gassed himself as he hates to bathe, and did not follow the other children when they had been ordered to "take a shower".

Guido consistently hides the true situation from Giosuè. He convinces him that the camp is a complicated game in which he must perform the tasks given to him. Each task earns them points and whoever reaches one thousand points first wins a tank. He is told that if he cries, complains for his mother, or says that he is hungry, he will lose points, while quiet boys who hide from the guards earn extra points. Giosuè is at times reluctant to go along with the game, but Guido continually encourages him.

One day, Guido takes advantage of the appearance of visiting German officers and their families to show Giosuè that other children are hiding as part of the game. Then he tricks a German nanny into thinking Giosuè is one of her charges to feed him while Guido serves the German officers. Giosuè must stay quiet at all times for this part of the game and simply follow the other children, as he cannot speak German. 

Giosuè is almost exposed as a prisoner when he accidentally says "thank you" in Italian to another server at dinner. However, when the server returns with his superior, Guido provides a ruse by teaching all of the German children how to say "thank you" in Italian, saving Giosuè.

Guido maintains this story through the end when, in the chaos of shutting down the camp as the [[Allies of World War II|Allied forces]] approach, he tells his son to stay hidden until everybody has left, the final task in the competition before the promised tank is his. 

Guido goes to find Dora but is caught by a German soldier. An officer orders his execution, so he is led off by the soldier. As he is walking to his death, Guido passes by Giosuè one last time and winks, still in character and playing the game. Guido is then shot dead in an alleyway.

The next morning, Giosuè emerges from hiding, just as a U.S. Army unit led by a [[M4 Sherman|Sherman tank]] arrives and the camp is liberated. An overjoyed Giosuè, unaware of his father's death, believes he won the tank, and an American soldier allows him to ride with him on it.

Giosuè soon spots Dora in the procession leaving the camp and reunites with her. While the young Giosuè excitedly tells his mother about how he had won a tank, just as his father had promised, the movie's narrator reveals himself as the adult Giosuè, reminiscing on the sacrifices his father made for him.

==Cast==
{{Cast listing|
* [[Roberto Benigni]] as Guido Orefice, an Italian-Jewish waiter, later owner of a bookstore and Giosuè's father
* [[Nicoletta Braschi]] as Dora, a Gentile school teacher, Guido's wife, and Giosuè's mother
* [[Giorgio Cantarini]] as Giosuè Orefice, Guido and Dora's son
* [[Giustino Durano]] as Uncle Eliseo, an Italian-Jewish [[Maître d'hôtel|maître]], Giosuè's granduncle and Guido's uncle
* [[Horst Buchholz]] as Doctor Lessing, a regular customer at Eliseo's restaurant who often tries to solve riddles when with Guido, later a doctor at the concentration camp
* [[Marisa Paredes]] (dubbed by {{ill|Paila Pavese|it|Paila Pavese}}) as Dora's mother, a rich socialite 
* Sergio Bustric as Ferruccio, Guido's friend and bumbling partner
* Amerigo Fontani as Rodolfo, Dora's first fiancé and a government official
* [[Lydia Alfonsi]] as Guicciardini
* [[Giuliana Lojodice]] as the Headmistress
* Pietro Desilva as Bartolomeo
* Francesco Guzzo as Vittorino
* [[Raffaella Lebboroni]] as Elena
* Claudio Alfonsi as Rodolfo's friend
* [[Richard Sammel]] as [[Waffen-SS]] Officer
* Aaron Craig as the American Tank Driver
* [[Omero Antonutti]] as older Giosuè who serves as the narrator ''(voice, uncredited)''}}
* [[Marc Schwarz ]] as the voice of the American Tank Driver (voice uncredited)

== Production ==
[[File:Badia delle sante flora e lucilla, arezzo, 02.JPG|thumb|The film was shot in [[Arezzo]], [[Tuscany]], including by the [[Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla]].]]
Director [[Roberto Benigni]], who wrote the screenplay with [[Vincenzo Cerami]], was inspired by the story of [[Rubino Romeo Salmonì]] and his book ''In the End, I Beat Hitler'', which incorporates elements of irony and [[black comedy]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8631266/Life-Is-Beautiful-Nazi-death-camp-survivor-dies-aged-91.html |title=Life Is Beautiful Nazi death camp survivor dies aged 91 |last=Squires |first=Nick |date=11 July 2011 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160323074652/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/history/world-war-two/8631266/Life-Is-Beautiful-Nazi-death-camp-survivor-dies-aged-91.html |archive-date=23 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Salmoni was an Italian Jew who was deported to Auschwitz, survived and was reunited with his parents, but found his brothers were murdered. Benigni stated he wished to commemorate Salmoni as a man who wished to live in the right way.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.unmondoditaliani.com/e-morto-romeo-salmoni-luomo-che-ispiro-benigni-per-la-vita-e-bella.htm |title=E' morto Romeo Salmonì: l'uomo che ispirò Benigni per La vita è bella |last=Paradiso |first=Stefania |date=10 July 2011 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=Un Mondo di Italiani |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304105919/http://www.unmondoditaliani.com/e-morto-romeo-salmoni-luomo-che-ispiro-benigni-per-la-vita-e-bella.htm |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> He also based the story on that of his father Luigi Benigni, who was a member of the [[Italian Army]] after Italy became a co-belligerent of the Allies in 1943.{{sfn|Norden|2007|p=146}} Luigi Benigni spent two years in a Nazi labour camp, and to avoid scaring his children, told about his experiences humorously, finding this helped him cope.{{sfn|Piper|2003|p=12}} Roberto Benigni explained his philosophy, "to laugh and to cry comes from the same point of the soul, no? I'm a storyteller: the crux of the matter is to reach beauty, poetry, it doesn't matter if that is comedy or tragedy. They're the same if you reach the beauty."<ref name="Logan">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/jan/29/awardsandprizes |title=Does this man really think the Holocaust was a big joke? |last=Logan |first=Brian |date=29 January 1999 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[The Guardian]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160924162505/https://www.theguardian.com/culture/1999/jan/29/awardsandprizes |archive-date=24 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The names of the protagonists are instead taken from Dora De Giovanni and Guido Vittoriano Basile, uncles of Nicoletta Braschi. Dora's life was turned upside down when Guido, arrested for his anti-fascist activity, died in the [[Mauthausen concentration camp]], a fate similar to that of the film's protagonist.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://issuu.com/franco.dellamore/docs/dora_de_giovanni | title=Dora de Giovanni, un soprano cesenate per Pietro Mascagni by Franco dell'Amore - Issuu | date=12 April 2015 }}</ref>

Benigni's friends advised against making the film, as he is a comedian and not Jewish, and the Holocaust was not of interest to his established audience.<ref name="Okwu">{{Cite web |url=http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9810/23/life.is.beautiful/index.html |title='Life Is Beautiful' through Roberto Benigni's eyes |last=Okwu |first=Michael |date=23 October 1998 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[CNN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918151408/http://edition.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9810/23/life.is.beautiful/index.html |archive-date=18 September 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Because he is [[Gentile]], Benigni consulted with the Center for Documentation of Contemporary Judaism, based in [[Milan]], throughout production.<ref name="Stone">{{Cite journal |url=https://bostonreview.net/film/alan-stone-escape-auschwitz |title=Escape from Auschwitz |last=Stone |first=Alan A. |date=1 April 1999 |access-date=11 September 2016 |journal=[[Boston Review]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160904170335/http://bostonreview.net/film/alan-stone-escape-auschwitz |archive-date=4 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Benigni incorporated historical inaccuracies in order to distinguish his story from the true Holocaust, about which he said only documentaries interviewing survivors could provide "the truth".<ref name="Logan"/>

The film was shot in the ''centro storico'' (historic centre) of [[Arezzo]], [[Tuscany]]. The scene where Benigni falls off a bicycle and lands on [[Nicoletta Braschi]] was shot in front of [[Badia delle Sante Flora e Lucilla]] in Arezzo.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/life-truly-is-beautiful-in-tuscanys-underappreciated-arezzo/article30201417/ |title=Life truly is beautiful in Tuscany's underappreciated Arezzo |last=Warkentin |first=Elizabeth |date=30 May 2016 |access-date=12 September 2016 |work=[[The Globe and Mail]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160912044941/http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/travel/destinations/life-truly-is-beautiful-in-tuscanys-underappreciated-arezzo/article30201417/ |archive-date=12 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> The concentration camp was set in an old abandoned factory near [[Papigno]] ([[Terni]]) that was converted into a concentration camp for filming.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://movie-locations.com/movies/l/Life-Is-Beautiful.php | title=Filming Locations for la Vita e Bella (Life is Beautiful) }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vivoumbria.it/papigno-dalle-fabbriche-inquinanti-a-la-vita-e-bella-e-quel-salto-da-oscar/ | title=Papigno, dalle fabbriche inquinanti a la vita è bella e quel salto da Oscar | date=21 March 2020 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://saltaconmigo.com/blog/2017/11/arezzo-localizaciones-la-vida-es-bella/ | title=8 localizaciones de la vida es bella en Arezzo: Tras los pasos de Benigni... | date=22 November 2017 }}</ref> The "prize" tank is an [[M4 Sherman]].

===Music===
{{Main|Life Is Beautiful (soundtrack)}}
The original [[Film score|score]] to the film was composed by [[Nicola Piovani]],<ref name="Rooney"/> with the exception of a classical piece which figures prominently: the [[barcarolle]] "[[Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour]]" by [[Jacques Offenbach]]. The soundtrack album won the [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Academy Award for Best Original Dramatic Score]]<ref name="Oscars1999"/> and was nominated for a [[Grammy Award]] for [[Grammy Award for Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media|Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media]].

==Release==
In Italy, the film was released in 1997 by Cecchi Gori Distribuzione.<ref name="Rooney">{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/life-is-beautiful-1200452780/ |title=Review: 'Life Is Beautiful' |last=Rooney |first=David |date=3 January 1998 |access-date=12 September 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305040046/http://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/life-is-beautiful-1200452780/ |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The film was screened in the [[1998 Cannes Film Festival|Cannes Film Festival]] in May 1998, where it was a late addition to the selection of films.{{sfn|Piper|2003|p=11}} In the United States, it was released on 23 October 1998,<ref name="Okwu"/> by [[Miramax Films]].<ref name="Maslin">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9905EFDF113DF930A15753C1A96E958260 |title=Giving a Human (and Humorous) Face to Rearing a Boy Under Fascism |last=Maslin |first=Janet |date=23 October 1998 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[The New York Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161129192029/http://www.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9905EFDF113DF930A15753C1A96E958260 |archive-date=29 November 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In Germany, it was released on 12 November 1998. In Austria, it was released on 13 November 1998. In the United Kingdom, it was released on 12 February 1999.<ref name="Logan"/> After the Italian, English subtitled version became a hit in English speaking territories, Miramax Films reissued ''Life Is Beautiful'' in an English dubbed version, but it was less successful than the subtitled Italian version.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Benigni-s-Pinocchio-Out-With-Subtitles-8826037.php |title=Benigni's 'Pinocchio' Out With Subtitles |work=Plainview Herald |date=8 February 2003 |access-date=17 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181121021917/https://www.myplainview.com/news/article/Benigni-s-Pinocchio-Out-With-Subtitles-8826037.php |archive-date=21 November 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The film was aired on the Italian television station [[RAI]] on 22 October 2001 and was viewed by 16 million people. This made it the most watched Italian film on Italian television.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.repubblica.it/online/spettacoli/ascolti/ascolti/ascolti.html |title=Benigni, audience da record oltre 16 milioni di spettatori |date=23 October 2001 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[La Repubblica]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304215750/http://www.repubblica.it/online/spettacoli/ascolti/ascolti/ascolti.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

==Reception==
===Box office===
''Life Is Beautiful'' was commercially successful, making 92 billion&nbsp;[[Italian lira|lire]] ($48.7&nbsp;million) in Italy.{{sfn|Perren|2012|p=274}} It was the [[List of highest-grossing films in Italy|highest-grossing Italian film]] in its native country until 2011, when surpassed by [[Checco Zalone]]'s ''[[What a Beautiful Day (film)|What a Beautiful Day]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/spettacolo/articoli/articolo500748.shtml |title=Checco Zalone supera Benigni |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=tgcom24.mediaset.it|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220085441/http://www.tgcom24.mediaset.it/spettacolo/articoli/articolo500748.shtml|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The film was also successful in the rest of the world, grossing $57.6&nbsp;million in the United States and Canada and $123.8&nbsp;million in other territories, for a worldwide gross of $230.1&nbsp;million.<ref name="mojo">{{Cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lifeisbeautiful.htm |title=Life Is Beautiful |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160606164906/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=lifeisbeautiful.htm|archive-date=6 June 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> It surpassed fellow Italian film ''[[Il Postino: The Postman]]'' as the highest-grossing foreign-language film in the United States until ''[[Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon]]'' (2000).<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=foreign.htm |title=Foreign Language |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[Box Office Mojo]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724001435/http://www.boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=foreign.htm|archive-date=24 July 2010|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|title='Life' shows there's life for foreign pix|last1=Carver|first1=Benedict|last2=Cox|first2=Dan|date=March 21, 1999|url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/life-shows-there-s-life-for-foreign-pix-1117492549/|access-date=September 4, 2022}}</ref>

===Critical response===
[[File:Roberto Benigni Nicoletta Braschi.jpg|thumb|[[Roberto Benigni]] received positive reviews for his film and performance, which he starred in with his wife [[Nicoletta Braschi]].]] 
The film was praised by the Italian press, with Benigni treated as a "national hero."<ref name="Stone"/> [[Pope John Paul II]], who received a private screening with Benigni, placed it in his top five favourite films.<ref name="Stone"/> It holds a "Fresh" 81% approval rating on review aggregation website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], based on 94 reviews with an average rating of 7.5/10. The site's consensus reads: "Benigni's earnest charm, when not overstepping its bounds into the unnecessarily treacly, offers the possibility of hope in the face of unflinching horror".<ref name="Life Is Beautiful">{{cite web |url=https://rottentomatoes.com/m/1084398-life_is_beautiful/ |title=Life Is Beautiful |access-date=26 December 2022 |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110413013903/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1084398-life_is_beautiful/ |archive-date=13 April 2011 |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Metacritic]] assigned the film a weighted average score of 58 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/life-is-beautiful?ftag=MCD-06-10aaa1c | title=Life is Beautiful | website=[[Metacritic]] }}</ref>

[[Roger Ebert]] gave the film 3.5/4 stars, stating: "[According to Benigni] the movie has stirred up venomous opposition from the right wing in Italy [and at] Cannes, it offended some left-wing critics with its use of [[Holocaust humor|humor in connection with the Holocaust]]. What may be most offensive to both wings is its sidestepping of politics in favor of simple human ingenuity. The film finds the right notes to negotiate its delicate subject matter ... The movie actually softens the Holocaust slightly, to make the humor possible at all. In the real death camps there would be no role for Guido. But ''Life Is Beautiful'' is not about Nazis and Fascists, but about the human spirit. It is about rescuing whatever is good and hopeful from the wreckage of dreams. About hope for the future. About the necessary human conviction, or delusion, that things will be better for our children than they are right now."<ref name="Roger Ebert">{{cite web |url=https://rogerebert.com/reviews/life-is-beautiful-1998 |title=Life Is Beautiful |last=Ebert |first=Roger |date=30 October 1998 |access-date=11 September 2016 |website=Rogerebert.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160925213925/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/life-is-beautiful-1998 |archive-date=25 September 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Michael Wilmington of the ''[[Chicago Tribune]]'' gave the movie a score of 100/100, calling it: "A deeply moving blend of cold terror and rapturous hilarity. Lovingly crafted by Italy's top comedian and most popular filmmaker, it's that rare comedy that takes on a daring and ambitious subject and proves worthy of it."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://moviemonitor.com/watch/life-is-beautiful |title= Life Is Beautiful |website= Moviemonitor }}</ref>

[[Richard Schickel]], writing for ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', argued, "There are references to mass extermination, but that brutal reality is never vividly presented". He concluded that "even a hint of the truth about the Holocaust would crush [Benigni]'s comedy."<ref>{{Cite magazine|last=Schickel|first=Richard|date=1998-11-09|title=Cinema: Fascist Fable|language=en-US|magazine=Time|url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,989504,00.html|access-date=2022-02-07|issn=0040-781X}}</ref> [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' gave it a B−, calling it "undeniably some sort of feat—the first feel-good Holocaust weepie. It's been a long time coming." However, Glieberman stated: "There's only one problem. As shot, it looks like a game".<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Glieberman|first=Owen|date=6 November 1998|title=Life Is Beautiful|url=https://ew.com/article/1998/11/06/life-beautiful|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161118063516/http://www.ew.com/article/1998/11/06/life-beautiful|archive-date=18 November 2016|access-date=12 September 2016|magazine=[[Entertainment Weekly]]}}</ref>

Michael O'Sullivan, writing for ''[[The Washington Post]]'', called it "sad, funny and haunting."<ref>{{cite news |last=O'Sullivan |first=Michael |date=30 October 1998 |title='Life's' Surprisingly Graceful Turn' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/reviews/lifeisbeautifulosullivan.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919153705/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/movies/reviews/lifeisbeautifulosullivan.htm |archive-date=19 September 2016 |access-date=11 September 2016 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

Nell Minow of ''[[Common Sense Media]]'' gave it 5/5 stars, saying: "This magnificent film gives us a glimpse of the Holocaust, but it is really about love, and the indomitability of humanity even in the midst of inhumanity."<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.commonsensemedia.org/movie-reviews/life-is-beautiful |title= Life Is Beautiful |website=Common Sense Media|date= 24 August 2009 }}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] wrote in ''[[The New York Times]]'' that the film took "a colossal amount of gall" but "because Mr. Benigni can be heart-rending without a trace of the maudlin, it works."<ref name="Maslin"/> ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''{{'}}s [[Kenneth Turan]] noted the film had "some furious opposition" at Cannes, but said "what is surprising about this unlikely film is that it succeeds as well as it does. Its sentiment is inescapable, but genuine poignancy and pathos are also present, and an overarching sincerity is visible too."<ref name="Turan">{{cite web |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-oct-23-ca-35479-story.html |title=The Improbable Success of 'Life Is Beautiful' |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |date=23 October 1998 |access-date=12 September 2016 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305013821/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/oct/23/entertainment/ca-35479 |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

David Rooney of ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' said the film had "mixed results," with "surprising depth and poignancy" in Benigni's performance but "visually rather flat" camera work by [[Tonino Delli Colli]].<ref name="Rooney"/> In 2002, [[BBC]] critic Tom Dawson wrote "the film is presumably intended as a tribute to the powers of imagination, innocence, and love in the most harrowing of circumstances," but "Benigni's sentimental fantasy diminishes the suffering of Holocaust victims."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/06/06/la_vita_e_bella_1997_review.shtml |title=La Vita è Bella (Life is Beautiful) (1998) |last=Dawson |first=Tom |date=6 June 2002 |access-date=12 September 2016 |work=[[BBC]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160726215746/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2002/06/06/la_vita_e_bella_1997_review.shtml |archive-date=26 July 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2006, [[Jewish American]] comedic filmmaker [[Mel Brooks]] spoke negatively of the film in ''[[Der Spiegel]]'', saying it trivialized the suffering in concentration camps.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/spiegel-interview-with-mel-brooks-with-comedy-we-can-rob-hitler-of-his-posthumous-power-a-406268.html |title=SPIEGEL Interview with Mel Brooks: With Comedy, We Can Rob Hitler of his Posthumous Power |last=Brooks |first=Mel |work=[[Spiegel Online]] |date=16 March 2006 |access-date=3 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170610031938/http://www.spiegel.de/international/spiegel/spiegel-interview-with-mel-brooks-with-comedy-we-can-rob-hitler-of-his-posthumous-power-a-406268.html |archive-date=10 June 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>

By contrast, Nobel Laureate [[Imre Kertész]] argues that those who take the film to be a comedy, rather than a tragedy, have missed the point of the film. He draws attention to what he terms 'Holocaust conformism' in cinema to rebuff detractors of ''Life Is Beautiful''.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=MacKay |first1=John |last2=Kertész |first2=Imre |date=1 April 2001 |title=Who Owns Auschwitz? |url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/36875 |journal=The Yale Journal of Criticism |language=en |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=267–272 |doi=10.1353/yale.2001.0010 |s2cid=145532698 |issn=1080-6636|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Israeli screenwriter, author and art critic Ḳobi Niv published the book ''Life Is Beautiful, but Not for Jews'' (in 2000 in Hebrew and an English translation in 2003), in which he analyzed the movie from a highly critical perspective, suggesting that the film's underlining narrative is harmful for Jews.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Niv |first=Ḳobi |url=https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810848757/Life-is-Beautiful-But-Not-for-Jews-Another-View-of-the-Film-by-Benigni |title=Life is beautiful, but not for Jews : another view of the film by Benigni |date=2003 |publisher=Scarecrow Press |isbn=0-8108-4875-9 |edition=1st |location=Landham, MD |oclc=52312653 |archive-date=25 May 2024 |access-date=7 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240525052211/https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780810848757/Life-is-Beautiful-But-Not-for-Jews-Another-View-of-the-Film-by-Benigni |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Another academic analysis of the movie was undertaken by Ilona Klein, who analyzes the film's success and refers to the "ambiguous themes hidden within." Klein suggests that one of the reasons the movie was so successful was its appeal of "sentimental optimism". At the same time, she points out that "Miramax's hype billed this film as a fable about 'love, family, and the power of imagination,' yet most Jewish victims of the Nazis' 'Final Solution' were loving, concerned, devoted parents. No amount of love, family, and power of imagination helped their children survive the gas chambers."<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Klein|first=Ilona|date=2010|title="Life Is Beautiful, Or Is It?" Asked Jakob the Liar|url=https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4801&context=facpub|journal=Brigham Young University Scholars Archive Faculty Publications|volume=3836|pages=16–31|via=BYU ScholarsArchive}}</ref>

David Sterritt of ''[[The Christian Science Monitor]]'' highlighted that "Enthusiasm for the movie has not been as unanimous as its ad campaign suggests, however, and audiences would do well to ponder its implicit attitudes." He pointed out that the movie implicitly suggests quick-witted confidence was a match for the terrors of fascist death camps, then added that "[Benigni's] fable ultimately obscures the human and historical events it sets out to illuminate."<ref>{{Cite news|date=1998-10-30|title='Life Is Beautiful': Too Light For Heavy Subject Matter?|work=[[The Christian Science Monitor]]|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1998/1030/103098.feat.feat.5.html|access-date=2022-02-07|issn=0882-7729}}</ref>

The movie received some criticism for the scene of the [[U.S. Army]] [[Sherman M4]] tank coming to liberate the concentration camp, although [[Auschwitz concentration camp|Auschwitz]] was liberated by the [[Red Army]]; however, as stated by Benigni, the camp of the movie is not Auschwitz: "... Around the camp there are mountains, which in Auschwitz there are not. That is "the" concentration camp, because any camp contains the horror of Auschwitz, not one or another".<ref>{{cite web |last=Puente |first=David |date=28 January 2023 |title=No! Il film "La Vita è bella" di Roberto Benigni non è ambientato ad Auschwitz |url=https://www.open.online/2023/01/28/la-vita-e-bella-roberto-benigni-auschwitz-fc/ |publisher=Open |language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2017 |title=La vita è bella: il capolavoro di Roberto Benigni compie 20 anni |url=https://www.cinematographe.it/rubriche-cinema/focus/la-vita-e-bella-roberto-benigni-20-anni/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230130115956/https://www.cinematographe.it/rubriche-cinema/focus/la-vita-e-bella-roberto-benigni-20-anni/ |archive-date=30 January 2023 |access-date=9 March 2024 |website=Cinematographe.it}}</ref>

===Accolades===
''Life Is Beautiful'' was shown at the [[1998 Cannes Film Festival]], and went on to win the [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Prix]].<ref name="festival-cannes.com">{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4903/year/1998.html |title=La vita è bella |access-date=1 October 2009 |work=festival-cannes.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120118100749/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/4903/year/1998.html |archive-date=18 January 2012 |url-status=live}}</ref> Upon receiving the award, Benigni kissed the feet of jury president [[Martin Scorsese]].<ref name="Turan"/>

At the [[71st Academy Awards]], Benigni won [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]] for his role, with the film winning two more awards for [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music, Original Dramatic Score]]<!-- n.b., there were 2 music awards in 1998 --> and [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]].<ref name="Oscars1999">{{Cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999 |title=The 71st Academy Awards (1999) Nominees and Winners |access-date=20 October 2015 |work=oscars.org |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402004536/http://www.oscars.org/oscars/ceremonies/1999 |archive-date=2 April 2015 |url-status=live}}</ref> Benigni jumped on top of the seats as he made his way to the stage to accept his first award, and upon accepting his second, said, "This is a terrible mistake because I used up all my English!"<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-roberto-benigni-life-is-beautiful-294906 |title=How 'Life Is Beautiful's' Roberto Benigni Stole the Oscars Show in 1999 |last=Higgins |first=Bill |date=24 February 2012 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012020648/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/oscars-roberto-benigni-life-is-beautiful-294906 |archive-date=12 October 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders sortable"
|-
! scope="col"| Award
! scope="col"| Date of ceremony
! scope="col"| Category
! scope="col"| Recipient(s)
! scope="col"| Result
! scope="col" class="unsortable"| {{Abbr|Ref(s)|Reference(s)}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=7| [[Academy Awards]]
| rowspan="7" | [[71st Academy Awards|21 March 1999]]
| [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]]
| [[Elda Ferri]] and [[Gianluigi Braschi]]
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="7" |<ref name="Oscars1999"/>
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Director|Best Director]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Roberto Benigni]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Actor|Best Actor]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]]
| Roberto Benigni and [[Vincenzo Cerami]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best International Feature Film|Best Foreign Language Film]]
| [[Italy]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Film Editing|Best Film Editing]]
| [[Simona Paggi]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[Academy Award for Best Original Score|Best Music, Original Dramatic Score]]
| [[Nicola Piovani]]
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Australian Film Institute Awards]]
| 1999
| [[Australian Film Institute Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]]
| Roberto Benigni, Elda Ferri and Gianluigi Braschi
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1999.aspx |title=1999 Winners & Nominees |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=AACTA.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161116051219/http://www.aacta.org/winners-nominees/1990-1999/1999.aspx|archive-date=16 November 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=3| [[BAFTA Awards]]
| rowspan="3" | [[52nd British Academy Film Awards|11 April 1999]]
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Film Not in the English Language|Best Film Not in the English Language]] 
| Roberto Benigni, Elda Ferri and Gianluigi Braschi 
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="3" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/good-night-at-baftas-for-anyone-called-elizabeth-1086740.html |title=Good night at Baftas for anyone called Elizabeth |last=Lister |first=David |date=11 April 1999 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[The Independent]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305002139/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/good-night-at-baftas-for-anyone-called-elizabeth-1086740.html |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Film Original Screenplay Writing]] 
| Roberto Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role|Best Film Actor in a Leading Role]] 
| rowspan="3" | Roberto Benigni
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Cannes Film Festival]]
| rowspan="1" | [[1998 Cannes Film Festival|13–24 May 1998]]
| [[Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)|Grand Prize]] 
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" |<ref name="festival-cannes.com"/>
|-
! scope="row"| [[César Awards]]
| rowspan="1" | [[24th César Awards|6 March 1999]]
| [[César Award for Best Foreign Film|Best Foreign Film]] 
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.allocine.fr/festivals/festival-128/palmares/prix-18350743/ |title=César du Meilleur film étranger – César |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[AlloCiné]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160918153327/http://www.allocine.fr/festivals/festival-128/palmares/prix-18350743/|archive-date=18 September 2016|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=2| [[Critics' Choice Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | [[4th Critics' Choice Awards|19 January 1999]]
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Picture|Best Movie]] 
! 
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9901/26/broadcast.film.awards/ |title=Broadcast Film critics name 'Saving Private Ryan' best film |last=Clinton |first=Paul |date=26 January 1999 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[CNN]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305021108/http://www.cnn.com/SHOWBIZ/Movies/9901/26/broadcast.film.awards/ |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Movie in a Foreign Language]] 
|rowspan=3|Roberto Benigni
| {{won}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=13| [[David di Donatello|David di Donatello Awards]]
| rowspan="13" | 1998
| [[David di Donatello for Best Film|Best Film]] 
| {{won}}
| rowspan="13" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.daviddidonatello.it/cercafilmvincitori2.php?idfilm=271&vinfilm= |title=La vita è bella – Premi vinti: 9 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[David di Donatello]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161110081657/http://www.daviddidonatello.it/cercafilmvincitori2.php?idfilm=271&vinfilm=|archive-date=10 November 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Director|Best Director]] 
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Producer|Best Producer]] 
| Elda Ferri and Gianluigi Braschi
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Script|Best Script]]
| Roberto Benigni and Vincenzo Cerami
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Actor|Best Actor in a Leading Role]] 
| Roberto Benigni
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Supporting Actor|Best Actor in a Supporting Role]] 
| Sergio Bustric
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Cinematography|Best Cinematography]] 
| [[Tonino Delli Colli]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Editing|Best Editing]] 
| [[Simona Paggi]]
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Sound|Best Sound]] 
| Tullio Morganti
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Score|Best Score]] 
| Nicola Piovani
| {{nom}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello Award|Best Production Design]]
| rowspan="2" | [[Danilo Donati]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello for Best Costumes|Best Costumes]]
| {{won}}
|-
| [[David di Donatello Award|Scholars Jury David]]
| Roberto Benigni
| {{won}}
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=2| [[European Film Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | [[11th European Film Awards|7 December 1998]]
| [[European Film Award for Best Film|Best Film]]
| Elda Ferri and Gianluigi Braschi
| {{won}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/European-Film-Awards-Winners-1998.75.0.html |title=European Film Awards Winners 1998 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[European Film Academy]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012052543/https://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/European-Film-Awards-Winners-1998.75.0.html|archive-date=12 October 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[European Film Award for Best Actor|Best Leading Actor]]
| Roberto Benigni
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Jerusalem Film Festival]]
| 1998
| Best Jewish Experience 
!
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" |<ref name="Logan"/>
|-
!scope="row" rowspan=2| [[Screen Actors Guild Awards]]
| rowspan="2" | [[5th Screen Actors Guild Awards|7 March 1999]]
| [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture|Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Motion Picture]] 
| [[#Cast|Cast]] 
| {{nom}}
| rowspan="2" |<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://variety.com/1999/film/news/sag-tells-benigni-life-is-beautiful-1117492031/ |title=SAG tells Benigni 'Life' is beautiful |last=Madigan |first=Nick |date=7 March 1999 |access-date=11 September 2016 |work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170305080012/http://variety.com/1999/film/news/sag-tells-benigni-life-is-beautiful-1117492031/ |archive-date=5 March 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref>
|-
| [[Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role|Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture]]
|rowspan=2|Roberto Benigni
| {{won}}
|-
! scope="row"| [[Toronto International Film Festival]]
| rowspan="1" | [[1998 Toronto International Film Festival|10–19 September 1998]]
| [[Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award|People's Choice Award]] 
| {{won}}
| rowspan="1" | {{sfn|Piper|2003|p=11}}
|-
|}

==See also==
* [[List of submissions to the 71st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film]]
* [[List of Italian submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

===Bibliography===
* {{cite book |last=Bullaro |first=Grace Russo |title=Beyond "Life is Beautiful": Comedy and Tragedy in the Cinema of Roberto Benigni |publisher=Troubador Publishing Ltd |date=2005 |isbn=1-904744-83-4 }}
* {{cite book |editor-last=Norden |editor-first=Martin F. |title=The Changing Face of Evil in Film and Television |location=Amsterdam and New York |publisher=Rodopi |date=2007 |isbn=978-9042023246 }}
* {{cite book |last=Perren |first=Alisa |title=Indie, Inc.: Miramax and the Transformation of Hollywood in the 1990s |publisher=University of Texas Press |date=2012 }}
* {{cite book |last=Piper |first=Kerrie |title=Life is Beautiful |publisher=Pascal Press |date=2003 |isbn=1741250307 }}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* {{IMDb title|0118799}}
* {{TCMDb title|332145}}
* {{Mojo title|lifeisbeautiful|Life Is Beautiful}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Life Is Beautiful}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1084398-life_is_beautiful|Life Is Beautiful}}
* ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20060422151505/http://www.artsandfaith.com/t100/2005/entry.php?film=95 Life Is Beautiful]'' at the [https://web.archive.org/web/20060720142105/http://artsandfaith.com/top100/ Arts & Faith Top 100 Spiritually Significant Films] list

{{Roberto Benigni}}
{{Navboxes
|title = Awards for ''Life Is Beautiful''
|list =
{{AcademyAwardBestForeignLanguageFilm 1981–2000}}
{{Blue Ribbon Award for Best Foreign Film}}
{{Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix}}
{{César Award for Best Foreign Film}}
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{David di Donatello Best Film}}
{{European Film Award for Best Film}}
{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{Goya Award for Best European Film}}
{{Italian submissions for the Academy Award}}
{{Lumière Award for Best Foreign Film}}
{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Foreign Language Film}}
{{TIFF People's Choice Award}}
{{Warsaw Film Festival Audience Award}}
}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Life Is Beautiful}}
[[Category:1997 films]]
[[Category:1990s war comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:Italian war comedy-drama films]]
[[Category:BAFTA winners (films)]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Film César Award winners]]
[[Category:Best Foreign Film Lumière Award winners]]
[[Category:Best International Feature Film Academy Award winners]]
[[Category:Films about children]]
[[Category:Films directed by Roberto Benigni]]
[[Category:Films featuring a Best Actor Academy Award–winning performance]]
[[Category:Films set in Arezzo]]
[[Category:Films set in Tuscany]]
[[Category:Films set in Italy]]
[[Category:Films set in Germany]]
[[Category:Films that won the Best Original Score Academy Award]]
[[Category:European Film Awards winners (films)]]
[[Category:1990s German-language films]]
[[Category:Holocaust films]]
[[Category:Anti-war films about World War II]]
[[Category:Tragicomedy films]]
[[Category:1990s Italian-language films]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Vincenzo Cerami]]
[[Category:Films about father–son relationships]]
[[Category:Films set in concentration camps]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1930s]]
[[Category:Films set in 1939]]
[[Category:Films set in the 1940s]]
[[Category:Films set in 1945]]
[[Category:Films scored by Nicola Piovani]]
[[Category:Italian World War II films]]
[[Category:Films about antisemitism]]
[[Category:Films about death]]
[[Category:Miramax films]]
[[Category:Grand Prix (Cannes Film Festival) winners]]
[[Category:Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award winners]]
[[Category:1990s English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language war comedy-drama films]]