Is Life Really Beautiful?

The way she looks at him !!! <3

Prompt: Based on the Holocaust literature and poetry we have read, what connections can be made between Life is Beautiful and our reading?  What events, scenes, or situations are similar or different? What is similar or different about the mood or tone of the pieces? How is life shown as beautiful throughout the film. Pull out at least two examples from different parts of the film and explain your rationale.

     After viewing Life Is Beautiful, I noticed there are many connections with this film and other films, poems, and books about the Holocaust. Life Is Beautiful is able to show the reality of the horrible concentration camps without making the whole movie dim and upsetting. The music that they use most of the time is really uplifting an nice and slow. In most movies about the Holocaust, the music is very dark and fast a, frightening. Take The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. The movie itself is dark and sad but the music they use is very dark and mostly low notes making they mood very dark. However, in both films, they show the reality of the "showers." In life Is Beautiful and The Boy in The Striped Pajamas, both times, we see people and kids being tricked into taking a shower when they were really going to their death in the gas chambers. Another way Life Is Beautiful is similar to other works about The Holocaust is the father son bond we see with Guido and Giosuė. In Night by Elie Wiesel, we see the bond Wiesel has with his father. Although in Life Is Beautiful, Guido is looking out for his son in the film and Wiesel is looking out for his father in the book. Either way, we see a strong father son bond that has formed between the sons and fathers. Wiesel and Guido are trying to keep their family member safe and to live as long as possible.  One last difference between Life Is Beautiful and Night is the fact that the women lived. Throughout the movie, Dora survived along with many other women. In most camps,  after arriving, the women would be sent to the furnaces. This was odd for me. Why was this camp different? Did they have too much work? Who knows...

     Like I've said before, most Holocaust movies were completely upsetting, sad, and depressing. However, In Life Is Beautiful, we are able to see a positive and sort of happy humorous mood be created. Throughout the movie, we se Guido try his hardest to show his wife love and his son happiness. A lot of men and women fell into a depression or state of shock but in the film, Guido is able to hold himself quite together. One instance where we see that life really is beautiful is when both Guido and Giosuė went onto the loud speaker of the camp spoke to Dora. The fact that Guido and Giosuė took the risk of being caught and killed to show Dora their love for her is amazing. They just didn't forget her. Didn't let her just drift out of her memory. We see Guidos true love for his wife and how much of his life she takes up. Another instance where we see how life is beautiful is when Guido plays the one Opera song that Dora and him listened together out to the camp. Like the first instance, their was a possibility that he could of been killed on the spot but took the risk to show his wife the love and to reassure his wife that he was still alive. One last instance that I thought strongly showed how life was beautiful was when Guido was still able to stay happy and make his son laugh one last time when he probably knew that he was gonna die. A lot of people would of cried or been completely a mess but he thought of his son first and made sure he had another good memory of his father.

      Comments: Maria, Gianna, Athziry