Roberto Benigni

We've got to give Roberto Benigni props. When he makes a movie, he knows what kind of movie he wants to make, and he sets about doing it. If that means casting a middle-aged man as Pinocchio or centering a story on a guy who likes to steal bananas, then so be it.

Of Benigni's initial films, Il Mostro is perhaps the best of example of this. Directed in 1994, the film's a comedy about mistaken identity as the cops suspect a gardener as the prime suspect in serial killer case. Benigni wrote, directed, and starred in the film, and it was the first film he created under his own production company, Melampo Cinematografica.

For Life Is Beautiful, Benigni went the same route. He wrote the script, starred in the film, and took on the role of director. It was also produced by his production company in collaboration with Cecchi Gori Group.

The takeaway? Benigni likes to wear many creative hats. These are his films—his expression of art or life or a particular philosophy.

Much like his past work, Life Is Beautiful is a comedy—despite taking place in one of the most tragic periods in human history. But to say it is a Holocaust comedy—as in making jokes at the expense of the Holocaust—would be inaccurate. The film treats the inhumanity of the Holocaust as a tragedy and does so with all the seriousness the subject matter deserves. Benigni just uses his comedic talents to present a life-affirming message within that tragedy.

Sound familiar?

That's because Benigni's inspiration to use comedy as a way to present a philosophy comes from Big Deal Comedian Charlie Chaplin. Benigni has said so himself, but even if he'd kept his lips sealed, his admiration for Chaplin would be pretty obvious.

From flipping over a chair to that silly Nazi march, Benigni's brand of physical comedy is classic Chaplin, most notably drawing from his character the Little Tramp. Even his directorial techniques are Chaplin-esque—not a lot of visual flourishes, favoring a locked down camera that lets the action and comedy speak for itself.

Then there's The Dictator, Chaplin's 1940 film about a Jewish barber who looks an awful lot like a dictator who looks an awful lot like Adolf Hitler. (It's that dinky little moustache.) In Chaplin's film, identities are mixed up, hilarity ensues, and it ends on a life-affirming message about the potential betterment of humanity.

Chaplin released the film as an argument against Hitler and fascism at a time when America hadn't completely renounced Hitler's regime. Nor, we might add, had the full horrors of the Holocaust been revealed to the world. In fact, Chaplin once said that he couldn't have made The Dictator had the full extent of the Holocaust been known (source).

Like Chaplin, Benigni uses comedy to make a point. As Benigni notes, "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" (source).

Would Chaplin have agreed that Benigni managed to find a way to balance satire with the tragedy of the Holocaust? Obviously, we can't say. But on the point of beauty and filmmaking, we imagine he'd agree with his impressive student.