Life is Beautiful, But Not for Jews

Another View of the Film by Benigni

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by Kobi Niv

Type

Essays

Subject

One Film > Life is Beautiful (Benigni)

Keywords

Roberto Benigni, humor, Jewishness

Publishing date

2003

Publisher

Scarecrow Press

Collection

The Scarecrow Filmmakers Series

Language

English

Relative size

Physical desc.

Hardcover • 136 pages
5 ½ x 8 ½ inches (14 x 21.5 cm)

ISBN-10
ISBN-13

0-8108-4875-9
978-0-8108-4875-7

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Book Presentation:
Roberto Benigni's romantic comedy Life is Beautiful enjoyed tremendous success everywhere it was shown. In addition to winning almost every possible film award, including three Oscars, lavish praise and film reviews, it grossed over a quarter of a billion dollars-the most profitable Italian movie ever. Very few have questioned the movie-until now.

With sharp, uncompromising logic and eye-opening insight, Niv analyzes the film and its script scene-by-scene to show why Life is Beautiful is very far from being the innocent, charming, and heartwarming film it appears to be. The author argues that the film not only lends support to the central arguments of Holocaust deniers, but is actually a quasi-theological, Christian parable which seeks to justify the extermination of Jews in the 20th century as divine punishment for the sin of the crucifixion of Jesus two thousand years ago.

Life is Beautiful, But Not for Jews is a riveting book that simply and concisely raises some important and complex ideas about film and psychology in post-Holocaust civilization. It also serves as an elementary course in the appreciation of films and artistic texts in general and in deciphering their deeper meanings, teaching the reader to more clearly grasp the hidden significance of cultural processes.

This is the first English translation of the Hebrew text.

About the Author:
Kobi Niv is head of screenwriting studies at the Department of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University, and teaches scriptwriting at the Department of Communication Studies at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, and at the Film Department of the School of Arts at Beit Berl College. In addition to writing for several Israeli newspapers and television comedy programs, he has also authored feature films, award winning plays, children's books, and books on scriptwriting and film analysis.

Press Reviews:
"A brilliant argument...Kobi Niv mordantly deconstructs the secret of the box-office success of Roberto Benigni and his film." ―Meir Schnitzer, Sofshavua

"Niv's book is an amazing text that presents its reader with a brilliant analysis, a book that blows your mind. In my opinion it should be required reading." ―Dudi Ben-Aroya, Ma'ariv

"A thought-provoking book...[it] has fascinating things to say about filmmaking in general as a way for Western culture to bleach the moral stain of the Holocaust." ―Orit Prague, Books and Literature Weekly Review

"This book is not only a thorough study of the subterranean prejudices in Benigni's celebrated film, but a brilliant, penetrating "screening" of the cinematic language in general, and of how an "innocent", "well-meaning" comedy can easily become a vehicle for dangerous racist stereotypes. I read it with fascination - it is a splendid book." ―Amos Oz, internationally renowned author and essayist

See the publisher website: Scarecrow Press

See Life is Beautiful (Benigni) (1997) on IMDB ...