LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

Roberto Benigni, the director-writer-producer-actor, has crafted a film that walks the tightrope between comedy and tragedy. A few critics have condemned it because it "lightens" the impact of the Holocaust, but such complaints are infuriatingly ignorant. In fact, Benigni's story of a father trying to protect his son from the horrors of a concentration camp is the type of movie that grips you, gives you chills and ultimately leaves you speechless. An overwhelmingly beautiful work of art.