Life Is Beautiful (1997 PG-13)
Content Area
Rating
PG-13
Length
1h 56min
Movie Story Line
Roberto Benigni shines as a screwball father who uses his unique comedic gifts to shield his son from Nazi horrors.
Watch the Trailer

Topics
Teaching Idea #1

While this film won many awards, it was also criticized for using comedy to tell a story about the Holocaust. Why do you think the makers of this film chose comedy to tell this story? How is it different from other works about the Holocaust you have seen or read? Does it matter that the writer, director, and star of the movie was not Jewish?

Teaching Idea #2

Research the WWII Kindertransport, a 2-year rescue effort to move Jewish children out of Nazi occupied territory and into safety. Who organized this effort? How successful were they in saving children from the Holocaust? What happened to the rescue children after the war?

Teaching Idea #3

Read the graphic novel. Maus. How does this particular medium tell the tragic story of the Holocaust differently than the movie?