Le tigre et la neige

The Tiger and the Snow is a beautiful romantic movie, and it opened quite perfectly with an awesome ballad "You Can Never Hold Back Spring", performed by Tom Waits himself. Written and directed by Italian Roberto Benigni (famed for the wonderful LIfe is Beautiful), he also stars as the lead Attilio de Giovanni, a lovestruck poet who falls for a woman in his recurring dreams.

Only of course, to wake up each time he dreams of them at the alter, and when she is about to declare her undying love for him, punctuated with promises of hot sex. Yes, you read that right. But I digress. In reality, he's an absent minded poetry professor who always forgets where he parks his car. But despite his quirky looks and demeanor (are Benigni's characters always like that I wonder), imagine the pandemonium within him when he finally meets the woman in his dreams, Vittoria (the object of his obsession played by wife in real life Nicoletta Braschi), an acquaintance of fellow writer Fuad (Jean Reno).

Meeting in the dreams, and meeting for real can hardly be any different, and his infatuation with and love for Vittoria goes unrequited. Until of course we examine through to the rest of the movie, how unconditional and large this love for her is, when he takes it upon himself to journey to and through war-strife Iraq to save her from injury, through hell and high water, in dogged pursuit of elements that can save the love of his life.

Although infused with bits of comedy now and then, the movie takes a long hard look at how much one will do for someone else whom you love deeply. It might be a case of "nothing is impossible", given the will and the affection. But what if you know that what you're doing will likely to be unnoticed, or unappreciated, or unrequited. Then what? Hence the power of unconditional love. Truly very rare indeed. Should you feel, as the movie progresses, that certain bits seemed a little out of place, my advice is to persevere until the end, where a sleight of hand twist is introduced, and given the 20/20 hindsight, you'll begin to ponder, and understand this love a little more.

It's bittersweet, and with moments that might touch you. But alas, this is no Life is Beautiful, and although it has its moments with the beautiful make belief cinematographic elements in the end, it somehow lacked that extra bit of emotional depth to truly move an audience.

Oh, and that fellow blonde teacher, now she's hot!

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.

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.

A pleasant, perhaps very pleasant, two hours spent watching Benigni do his stuff in Italy and Iraq, though I have yet to decide if I really wanted to see another film about him chasing the woman of his dreams, especially as I can never decide if said actress is limited in her acting ability, or if she finds herself constricted by the rather reductive roles she finds herself interpreting. That said, Reno is excellent as the Iraqi poet in exile in France, firstly as a thought-provoking contrast to Benigni's over-the-top enthusiasm, and secondly because he is the politics that are touted when they describe the film as political. The poet's reaction to his return to his native land after many years in exile is an understated, but strongly felt, message. Of course there is also a message, and many jibes, in the humor of Benigni... about young American soldiers in Iraq, the chaos that still reigns in the country after the fall of the old guard and the naivety with which westerners view both culture and war. Great to see Tom Waits on screen again, though with an uncharacteristically romantic song, and for those who are interested, Waits does play 'the musician' and not a speaking role. The jury's out on how convincing the parent-child relationship was, Benigni seemed to be speaking to two small children, not teenagers. And Fox, though a good actress, played a rather mono-dimensional love interest here. I had the pleasant surprise of coming across them making this film while I was passing through Fiumicino airport earlier in the year- the humor that draws people into the cinema halls is even more vibrant live.

After the Holocaust, Roberto Benigni tackles a more recent but still tricky subject: the second Gulf War.And just like he did with his masterpiece, La Vita è Bella, he perfectly mixes comedy and tragedy, telling a story about love, life and death.

The first half-hour is 100% comedy, as we see Attilio de Giovanni(Benigni) take care of his teenage daughters, teach poetry at university, befriend a camel and desperately woo a woman, Vittoria (Nicoletta Braschi).There's even time for a really funny Sergio Leone homage. The trouble begins when Vittoria is dying in a hospital in Baghdad during the war (she went to Iraq to write a book), and Attilio tries to save her life with the help of his friend and fellow poet Fuad (Jean Reno, whose Italian is remarkably good).Expect a race against the clock stuffed with some incredibly funny material: more camels, Attilio praying Allah (one of the highlights) and even getting caught by American troops because suspected of being a suicide-bomber ("I am Italian" is what he keeps screaming during said scene).

There are a few plot holes (mostly concerning Fuad and his final scene,which has no explanation), but luckily the movie works anyway. Benigni has lost none of his vitality, and he uses all of it in this great picture reminiscent of Chaplin's best films (there's an explicit reference to City Lights).

Poetic and unbelievably beautiful, not to mention really funny, it's a must-see for lovers of European cinema throughout the world.

8,5/10