The movie “Life is Beautiful” tackles the life of a father covering the harsh reality they are experiencing, saying that everything they do inside the concentration camp is part of a “game.” With Guido’s (Roberto Benigni) positivity and talent of humor, he persuaded his son Joshua that they were not experiencing a tragic event (The Holocaust); but playing a game. With the admirable father’s love and their relationship, they were able to surpass challenges.
This is a beautiful film that I feel changes your outlook on life. I wrote a thorough movie summary:
Life Is Beautiful Summary And Review (Ultimate Tearjerker)
Let’s Get to the Life is Beautiful Movie Quotes:
- “Nothing is more necessary than the unnecessary.” – Uncle Eliseo
- “What kind of place is this? It’s beautiful: pigeons fly, women fall from the sky! I’m moving here!” – Guido
- “The game starts now. You have to score one thousand points. If you do that, you take home a tank with a big gun. Each day we will announce the scores from that loudspeaker.” – Guido
- “I want to make love to you, not just once, but over and over again! But I’ll never tell you that. I’d have to be crazy to tell you. I’d even make love to you now, right here for the rest of my life.” – Guido
5. “They just don’t want Jews or dogs to go in. Everybody does what they want to. There’s a hardware store there. They don’t let Spanish people or horses into his store. Further ahead, there’s a drugstore. I was with a Chinese friend of mine yesterday who had a kangaroo. I said, “May we?” “No, we don’t want any Chinese or kangaroos here.” They don’t like them. What can I tell you?” – Guido/Roberto Benigni
- “You can’t imagine how much I feel like making love to you. But I’ll never tell anyone, especially not you. They’d have to torture me to make me say it.” – Guido
Despite all the challenges they underwent as Jews, Guido never failed to win Dora’s heart as he always showed her how much he loves her. Truly, Guido was able to lighten the environment no matter where he is, and who he was with.
- “Our race is superior. I’ve just come from Rome, right this minute to come and tell you in order that you’ll know, children, that our race is a superior one. I was chosen, I was, by racist Italian scientists in order to demonstrate how superior our race is. Why did they pick me, children? Must I tell you? Where can you find someone more handsome than me? Justly so, there is silence. I’m an original “superior race,” pure Aryan.” – Guido
- “They don’t send old people and kids to work because they kill them. One of these days they’ll call them to take a shower. “Children, shower time!” The truth is, they make them shower there in the gas chamber.” – Jewish Woman
9. “First, we’ll eat. Then I’ll make love to her two or three times…if I can.” – Guido/Roberto Benigni
- “I’ll take just one. I’ll take it to my wife: Guido’s flower. I truly enjoyed myself with you. You’re the most ingenious…waiter I’ve ever come across.” – Dr. Lessing
- “You fell for that? Again? I thought you were a sharp boy, cunning, intelligent. Buttons and soap out of people? That’ll be the day. You believed that?” – Guido
- “Schopenhauer says that with willpower, you can do anything. “I am what I want to be.” Right now, I want to sleep, so I was saying to myself, “I’m sleeping, sleeping,” and I fell asleep.” – Ferrucio
- “This is my story. This is the sacrifice my father made. This was his gift to me.” – Narrator (Joshua)
14. “If you speak my name, I vanish. What am I? Silence.” – Guido/Roberto Benigni
- “You’re here serving, you’re not a servant. Serving is the supreme art. God is the first of servants. God serves men, but he’s not a servant to men.” – Uncle Eliseo
- “Don’t you know it takes so little to make me happy? A chocolate ice cream is enough. Maybe two! A nice walk together and then, whatever happens, happens.” – Dora
As romantic as she is, Dora reminded Guido that she does not need the world to revolve around her to be happy. All it takes is the thought behind the bond they’re doing.
- “Silence is the most powerful cry.” – Eliseo
18. “You can do anything you want in the city. If you want to yell, yell.” – Guido/Roberto Benigni
- “My husband and son are on that train. I want to get on that train. Did you hear me? I want to get on that train.” – Dora
- “We got a thousand points and we won the game! Daddy and me came in first and now we won the real tank! We won! We won!” – Joshua
- “Did you fall for that? They’re as sly as foxes. They want to beat you. Are you joking? There’s no tank? Don’t you believe them!” – Guido
- “Come here. Where are we here? I might have taken the wrong way. Good boy, sleep. Dream sweet dreams. Maybe it’s only a dream! We’re dreaming, Joshua. Tomorrow morning, Mommy will come wake us up and bring us two nice cups of milk and cookies.” – Guido
Hoping that tomorrow will be a better day than today, Guido tried comforting his son to sleep as they wander through the camp. Asleep or awake, he wants his son to imagine only pleasant things.
23. “Think of a sunflower, they bow to the sun. But if you see some that are bowed too far down, it means they’re dead.” – Eliseo
- “Just imagine. Tomorrow morning, I wash my hands with Bartolomeo, a good scrub. Then I’ll button up with Francesco. Oh. Darn it all. Look! I just lost Giorgio. Does this look like a person? Come on! They were teasing you, and you fell for it. What else did they tell you?” – Guido
- “There are three ways to lose points. One, turning into a big crybaby. Two, telling us you want to see your mommy. Three, saying you’re hungry and want something to eat.” – Guido
- “An old man was crying. He said they turn us into buttons and soap. They burn us all up in ovens.” – Joshua
- “Seats? On a train? It’s obvious you’ve never ridden one before! No, everybody’s packed in, standing up. Look at this line to get on! Hey, we’ve got tickets, save room for us!” – Guido
28. “Look, they stopped the train to let Mom get on.” – Joshua
This line proved that Guido’s hard work to keep Joshua’s attention from the harsh reality they’re experiencing paid off. With his innocence and Guido’s perseverance, his mind still processed that everything that’s happening is normal.
- “Good morning, Princess. Last night, I dreamt about you all night. We were going to the movies. You were wearing that pink suit that I really like. You’re all I think about, Princess. I always think about you.” – Guido
- “Just a few words. You already know it all by now, and you’ve known for several years. Dora and I were born on the same street. We went to school together, we had the same friends. Dora is the woman of my life, and I’m the man in her life; therefore, we’ve decided to get married within the year. You’re all officially invited on April the 9th to the Basilica of Santa Maria del Pellegrino. And then we’ll celebrate till dawn all together, right here, just as happy as we are now.” – Rodolfo
- “We’re going to die here. I can’t take it anymore. I’m putting this down. I’ll tell them I can’t do it. What can they do to me?” – Guido
32. “Joshua, why are you here? You’re not supposed to be here! Go away! Why aren’t you with the other kids?” – Guido/Roberto Benigni
- “Momma! Pop wheels me in the wheelbarrow, but he doesn’t know how to drive! We laugh like crazy! We’re in the lead! How many points do we have today?” – Joshua
- “So. Pay attention. “Fat, fat, ugly, ugly, all yellow in reality. If you ask me what I am, I answer, ‘Cheep, cheep, cheep.’ Walking along I go, ‘Poopoo.’ Who am I? Tell me true.” A duckling, right? Is it a duckling? It’s not!” – Dr. Lessing
- “With me? What could possibly happen to me? The worst they can do is undress me, paint me yellow, and write, “Achtung, Jewish waiter.” I didn’t even know this horse was Jewish. Let’s go. I’ll clean him up in the morning.” – Guido
- “That was my exact reaction. I can’t believe a seven-year-old child has to solve this kind of equation. It’s a difficult calculation. Proportions, percentages. They need at least some algebra to do those equations. That’s high school material for us.” – Principal
37. “These guys are crazy! This has to weigh a hundred kilos! It’s got to be 3,000 degrees in here. Vittorino, I can’t cope anymore!” — Guido/Roberto Benigni
All of Guido’s hard work and sacrifice saved his son’s life. Joshua does come to the reality of what is happening to them at the moment, still, Guido telling him that it’s a game got him through the challenge.
Click Here for the Life is Beautiful Review.
