Original subtitles

In the movie ''Life is Beautiful'', Roberto Benigni finds love, comedy and beauty where you would least expect it. One of the most basic screenwriting rules is that over the course of a film, a character should change as they learn that what they want is not what they need. But what if we create a character whose want is the same as his need? A wise character who completely understands himself and his world? Enter Guido Orefice, a man defined by his resilience. Guido refuses to let the changing situation change him - and as a result, he becomes one of the most compelling characters in cinema. The film is split into two acts separated by location; Act 1 in Arezza and Act 2 in the concentration camp, but in both, Guido’s want remains the same: Guido wants to love. But what defines Guido more than just the love he wants or believes in are the tactics he uses to overcome his obstacles. One important aspect of Guido’s character is his bravery and confidence. After learning that a minister from Rome is visiting the school where the woman he likes, Dora, works as a teacher, Guido decides to impersonate the minister, and his character trait of confidence is shown as an endearing tactic that he uses to get the love that he wants. In Arezza, the obstacle to Guido’s love is the town official to whom Dora is engaged. In the concentration camp, the obstacle to his love is the Nazis. But remember, Guido is one of those characters who doesn’t change, nothing will break him. So in both situations, Guido’s tactics of confidence and bravery are the same. This movie is a masterclass in setup and payoff. In the first act, the phrase ‘Buongiorno, Principessa!’ is used seven times, beginning as a witty spontaneous greeting - - and returning every time as a symbol of Guido’s love for Dora. The seventh time the phrase is heard, it is actually spoken by the couple’s son, Giosue. Guido is so charismatic that he has rubbed off onto his son, and now the phrase transforms from a symbol of Guido’s love for Dora to a symbol for the love of the family as a whole. This is an important setup because a few scenes before Dora hears the loudspeaker, she is told that all the children in the camp will be exterminated in a gas chamber under the guise of taking a shower. So Dora becomes deathly worried for the life of her son and so when Guido says ‘Buon Giorno, Principessa!’ on the loudspeaker, it is an affirmation that they are both alive, that they both love her. In fact this scene sets up many story elements. Giosue protests against cleaning himself in the shower. This defiance, a tactic received from his father, becomes what Giosue needs in the concentration camp. And this scene also sets up a prop you can hide in - the nightstand - which is later paid off as the metal cabinet. But perhaps my favourite setup and payoff in this scene - and the whole film - is that of Schopenhauer. 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer saw that the world was full of sickness, old age, pain, and death, and thought that this world must be the work of a devil, who delights in our sufferings. He saw human suffering as the result of our instinctual desires. He defined that the Wille Zum Leben - the will-to-life - is a blind, dumb, insistent force; a Freudian libido that throws us directly into the boil of that which will consume us. Inspired by Buddhism, Schopenhauer’s ideal solution to the suffering of the world was for us to become monk-like figures who are able to overcome our instinctual desires and thus live free of suffering through a kind of intellectual enlightenment that I like to equate to apathy. So yes, I couldn’t disagree with Schopenhauer more. For me, the will to life - the natural instinct to love, seek pleasure and defy that evil creator - is a thing of beauty. And there’s nobody who would agree with me more than Roberto Benigni. In this scene, Schopenhauer’s philosophy is set up through this idea of the will-to-life. But the film actually distorts the original pessimism of Schopenhauer’s will and colonises it in a very cheeky and postmodern way. Viewed through a narratological perspective, Schopenhauer’s philosophy describes that all humans want instinctual things like sex and children, but need to abstain from these desires and choose intellectual enlightenment. But remember, Guido is a character who is confident and sure of himself. What Guido wants is also what he needs, and so his will to life is his intellectual enlightenment. For Guido, want is need and instinct is intellect. Guido is a clown but he has this internal wisdom, he knows that if he wants something, it’s in his best interest to get it. So the film transforms Schopenhauer’s original pessimism of the will to life and converts it into this metaphorical technique that Guido uses to get what he wants, showing that the smartest thing you can do is to believe in your instincts. So the Schopenhauer technique is set up - and then paid off - set up again - and paid off one final time. In real life, there’s no way this would work. But this is fiction. Remember, Guido is such a compelling character because he is so confident in himself. He doesn’t need to listen to the guards, the racist Italian scientists, or even Schopenhauer - he needs only to listen to himself. And with a little imagination, that self-confidence and that bravery - well, it pays off. To quote Mathias Hosel, Guido is compelling because his qualities are unbreakable. He is a man that smiles on his way to death. He fights his setting by refusing to change - and when he dies, we know he won. Because he did everything he could to give in to the will to life - and he loved with all his heart. The tragedy of the Holocaust is not something to laugh at. But it’s definitely something you can laugh against. In Life is Beautiful, Benigni shows us that the most beautiful thing about life is you. So stay true to yourself. And if you can learn to love others with the same confidence with which you love yourself, then you can find the beauty in just about anything.