La tigre e la neve

Director and actor Roberto Benigni brings us another gem of a film, La tigre e la neve, The Tiger and the Snow, and like La vita è bella, both he and his wife, Nicoletta Braschi star in the leading roles. Without giving too much away, La tigre e la neve tells the beautiful story of a love-struck Italian poet (Benigni as Attilio de Giovanni) who finds himself chasing his true love, Vittoria, (Braschi) to Iraq at the time of the American invasion. Benigni has an incredible talent at humour, a hilarity that translates across languages and cultures, while retaining a delicate respect towards some of the more sombre concepts that he addresses in his films.

I was surprised to read, after watching the film myself, all the negative reviews from critics. I felt that many of the comments were unjustified, and arrogant if nothing else; sometimes those who are used to critiquing American Hollywood cinema just seem so close-minded to everything else; so after many instances of high-praise for what I ended up thinking were rubbish films and scathing reviews of films I adored, I have given up reading reviews as to be any sort of indication of movies I should see.

La tigre e la neve is a wonderfully poetic tribute to love, to life, and to death.

One of my favourite lines of the film was, 'Se muore lui, per me tutta questa messa in scena del mondo che gira, possono anche smontare, portare via, schiodare tutto, arrotolare tutto il cielo e caricarlo su un camion col rimorchio, possiamo spegnere questa luce bellissima del Sole che mi piace tanto... ma tanto... Io sai perché mi piace tanto? Perché mi piace lui illuminato dalla luce del sole, tanto... portar via tutto questo tappeto, questo colonne, questo palazzo... la sabbia, il vento, le rane, i cocomeri maturi, la grandine, le 7 del pomeriggio, maggio, giugno, luglio, il basilico, le api, il mare, le zucchine... le zucchine...'

'If she dies, they can close this whole show of a world, they can cart it off, unscrew the stars, roll up the sky, and put it on a truck, they can turn off this sunlight I love so much. Do you know why I love it so much? Because I love her when the sun shines on her. They can take everything away, these carpets, columns, houses... sand, wind, frogs, ripe watermelons, hail, seven in the evening, May, June, July, basil, bees, the sea,  zucchini... zucchini...'

Johnny Stecchino

My friend recommended this film a few months ago; apparently I was watching all the classic Italian films that Italians themselves rarely watch. Directed by and starring Roberto Benigni, who won an Academy Award for the famous La vita è bella, Johnny Stecchino is an earlier gem from the comedian.

'Benigni stars as Dante, a kind-hearted but naive buffoon who is happy driving the school bus for a group of mentally handicapped children but feels he is somehow missing out on life and love.

His fortunes take a dramatic turn when he meets Maria (played by Benigni's real-life wife Nicoletta Braschi), a dangerous driver who seems immediately enamoured of him. Dante is soon invited to her sumptuous Palermo villa, pleasantly unaware that he's being drawn into an underworld plot. He bears an amazing likeness to Maria's gangster husband, who also happens to be a stool pidgeon and it would be very convenient for the couple if the mobster, in the shape of Dante, was seen to be dead and buried.'

Generally, I don't watch comedies, but this film was witty and energetic; and the hilarity translated from the Italian to the English brilliantly. What it lacked in cinematography it made up for in the colour palette and the beautiful glimpses of Italy. Johnny Stecchino may not be a film I watch over and over again, but it is definitely worth a watch.