I also saw "Life is Beautiful" last weekend.  In fact, I stood right behind
Nick in the line for the matinee on Sunday.  We got there shortly before
the movie was to start.   [So?  We figured we could miss the Coke ad and
the teasers for new movies.]  We missed the first ten minutes or so of the
feature.

I expected the movie to be impressive and it was.  Beautifully shot.  It
made me pine for Europe again and all the "stones" over there.  I do have a
couple of picky criticisms.  The schtick was a little heavy; e.g., the eggs
in the hat scene was all too predictable.  The child was beautiful.  Actors
know that to go on with kids or dogs is to risk being upstaged.

I was trying to figure out where the camp might have been.  I don't recall
reading of any work camps in Italy proper.  Goldhagen reports seven to
eight thousand Jews murdered during the holocaust, but I believe most of
them died in Croatia.

The movie, beyond entertainment, seemed a bit obscure to me.  If there is a
moral point about optimism in the face of horror then this movie  seemed a
counterpoint.

Nonetheless the movie is certainly worth a look even though, in my opinion,
it is not a great piece of work.

--Gene


Eugene Bartoo
UT Chattanooga
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