Le tigre et la neige

To understand fully Roberto Benigni you have to know him also as a person, in his interviews talking about life, love, happiness, religion, poetry, he can improvise a rimed limerick because that is what the people of his village where doing an everyday pastime; the knowledge he has of "The Divine Comedy" (that he can recite by heart), of literature, philosophy is truly impressive. Or you should see him when in his he stand ups challenges bad politicians, they hate him but they cannot silence him, because he his so much loved and he is such an undeniable great mind. He his an intellectual, a poet, a philosopher, a splendid human being, one of the kind, he a precious intellectual treasure for humanity. So watching his films and mistake him just for a clown, a comedy film writer, actor, director, is extremely diminishing and very misjudging of his intellect. In "La vita è bella" he got the world recognition he deserved, but most of all as Italian I was so happy and proud to finally share him with people from all over the world. Few people misunderstood his way of talking about something very serious in such a light way, they didn't understood that his respect for the Holocaust victims is so great, that wouldn't never portrait the reality of the horror in a film for as to watch as voyeurs. In the following film "Pinocchio", people went the see a Walt Disney Pinocchio and got the real Pinocchio, the Toscany not the Hollywood one, the best and most faithful to the original Collodi story (as you would aspect from Benigni), I've seen so far, which is not so much a fable for children as it is an unforgiving portrait of power a challenging definition of what is good or bad, much to intellectual to be understood and appreciate by great audiences. This one is all about love, the love for a woman, in the speech he does about what life would be without the woman he loves, he is unbeatable, men should take notes; love and great respect of others culture showing how intellectually enriching and vital is to understand and embrace others culture and diversity rather than force ours upon; love for life over war. Everything he does is worth watching and listening, he is special and I am so glad he is around with is infectious joy for life, boy if we all need him.

I think the difference between the great and the normal artist lies in how they can re-produce the magic moments of art. The film "The life is beautiful" (TLIB) from Benigni was a nice surprise for me several years ago and now I thought let's see, what else he can do. To be absolutely honest this film is not as good, as the (TLIB), but I felt the magic once again. This film was not so deep, maybe, but it has something that I've never found in (american) comedies. There the source of the humor is often disgusting and it completely misses the real, intelligent humor, which can be found here. I definitely liked this film with all of errors and weaknesses in it. It's worth of watching.

This is a poignant and moving fable about a sacrifice to save the sweetheart's life. It's an unforgettable story that proves imagination, family and love conquer all. It concerns upon Attilio(Roberto Benigni, a magnificent rubber-faced funnyman), a professor of poetry in Italia, he raises a darling pair daughters. He's a madcap romantic man and women(Emilia Fox) wish him. But he falls in love with Vittoria (Benigni's real-life sweetie Nicoletta Braschi, also producer). Every day Attilio dreams of marrying her, under Tom Waits songs , dressed in underpants and T-shirt. Vittoria trips to Irak along with Faud(Jean Reno),when the second War Gulf spontaneously breaks out . She's injured and Attilio is determined to save his lover from dangers around them and encounter medical care. His effort sometimes is pure fantasy , though with ruse he pull off more impetus to keep his wounded lover and accomplishes feats no man could realistically execute.

This is a story about love, war and sacrifice, well starred and directed by Roberto Benigni who develops a fire-line between comedy and tragedy. Inventive gags and wacky humor are splendidly proceeded. Benigni tirelessly maintains the humorous ingenuity, even as the horror war escalate. Actor and director Benigni shapes simultaneously haunting and hilarious comedy out of the tragedy of Irak. The film displays an emotive musical score by Nicola Piovani, Oscar winner by 'Life is beautiful'. Colorful and glamorous cinematography by Fabio Cianchetti. The motion picture is marvellously directed by Benigni. He's a good comedies director (Monster, Johnny Toothpick, Little devil) with some flop(Pinoccio) and usual actor for Jim Jarmusch(Coffee and cigarettes, Night of Earth, Down by law). Rating¨: Better than average. Well worth seeing.

Anyone who calls this film superficial, banal or trivial has spectacularly missed the point and is exactly the same type of person who was levelling precisely the same kind of criticism at La Vita è Bella. Now, though I do like Benigni (in my opinion La Vita è Bella is a masterpiece and films like Il Piccolo Diavolo, Johnny Stecchino and Il Mostro are exceedingly worthy comedies - that said I thought Pinocchio was an expensive disaster), I will try to be as objective as possible. In La Tigre e la Neve, Benigni repeats the masterfully delicate feat he accomplished in La Vita è Bella: he touches on complex, spikey issues (in La Vita è Bella it was the holocaust, here we have the war in Iraq) in a fable-like, simple manner - he doesn't politicise the film, and he doesn't delight in the gruesome (and very real) aspects of war. Yet this is NOT trivialisation of the subject matter. To believe that is to believe that the true horrors of war (or the holocaust) can only be conveyed on the screen by a documentary-style approach, and that cannot be the case. Benigni is far more effective - he does not shock the audience with visual representations of war, but his comedy in the face of war creates a subtle paradox that makes the whole film even more touching. La Tigre e La Neve is a fable about love, love in the face of adversity, stubborn optimism, hope and desperation and relationships between people of different races and creeds. Don't expect to see a Michael Moore rant at the injustice of war - Benigni is far more subtle. Perhaps the only criticism I have is that Nicoletta Braschi's performance is not always one hundred percent convincing, but Benigni and Reno more than make up for it. I truly hope it makes it on an international level - definitely a film to watch.

This film seems to be made for Roberto Benigni's fans. If you didn't like his previous films, don't bother with this one. The other comment that must be made is: this is not "Life is Beautiful". That film was simply wonderful, and I don't think it will ever find a match. Regardless this issue, "La tigre e la neve" is a very good movie. Benigni continues to show his amazing ability in order to mix comedy with drama, making the story very interesting and enjoyable. As a negative issue, we can point out that Benigni is a bit repetitive (it's his way of communicating), and might be a bit annoying for some people. The plot is quite simple: a man discovers that the woman he loves is seriously injured in a hospital in Baghdad, during American invasion in '03. He decides to travel to Iraq in order to help his loved one. The film has a good script, and is adequately seasoned with very good photography, music, and an unavoidable message of hope. Highly recommended for people looking for a story plenty of romanticism with a conceptually brilliant ending.