Acensbart Excellent but underrated film

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Hadrina The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

billcr12 Roberto Benigni follows up his Oscar winning Life is Beautiful with another whimsical romantic comedy. He is Attilio, a college professor, divorced, with two teenage daughters. He is hopelessly in love with Vittorio(Nicoletta Braschi), a writer who travels to Iraq to write a book about Fuad, a poet in exile who is also a friend of Attilio. It is during the Iraqi war and Vittoria is seriously wounded and in a coma. Attilio goes to Baghdad to save the love of his life by posing as a doctor to obtain medicine from the Italian Red Cross. He succeeds and checks back with Fuad with a very sad scene.The American military pick up Attilio, mistakenly believing him to be a terrorist, a funny and comically absurd part of the story.The ending is somewhat of a Hollywood kind of finish to The Tiger and the Snow a passable diversion; but not at the level of Life is Beautiful. One additional plus is Tom Waits singing and playing a piano at a surreal wedding scene.

tornadojoegee Very flawed and yet fantastic fable, remarkably touching performances, especially by Benigni and Reno. I think those who have panned it missed the point - Benigni is not the greatest poet nor person; it is because he is flawed that we identify and are so moved. I particularly enjoyed the song by Tom Waits and its performance and use in the film. I did not mind the lack of political opining at all; I doubt the film was intended to further any particular political point of view. It was, however, philosophical, beautiful, romantic, and uplifting. Not quite up to the level of Life is Beautiful, but a wonderful cinematic experience in its own right.

Hazel Woodward The protagonist in this film is excellent: not only is he a poet who looks at life unflinchingly, loves it, describes it beautifully and suffers in it, he is also a a doer who manipulates the situations: trying his hardest to make things go his way, and last, but not least, a lover, who reminds one so of that old quote from Desiderata: "Neither be cynical about love; for in the face of all aridity & disenchantment, it is perennial as the grass.." I was amazed at the beauty in the film, the small touches of magic and the huge brush strokes of Iraqi landscape which contrasted with the civilized Italian urban scenes. A truly well-executed movie, tender and intelligent, well worth the reading of the subtitles.

Faisal_Flamingo I missed Roberto Benigni & and I miss his good movies .. and not since "A Beautiful Life" he has directed a successful movie.This movie is poetic and I wish I speak Italian to understand all the nice poetic speeches and the Italian poems.As in "A Beautiful Life" Benigni mixes the tragedy with a light comedy that is funny and touching in the same time.His performance was good .. Jean Reno was good .. Nicoletta Braschi wasn't bad.It is a good movie that you will fell in love with it if you are a Benigni fan ..and will at least like it if not.