I know its 7 years after the fact but I finally watched the brilliantly beautiful movie Life is Beautiful starring the indomitable Roberto Benigni. This story is one of many, many Holocaust stories but it is told with so much humour and emotion that only Benigni could pull it off. He is only the 2nd actor to direct himself to a Best Actor Oscar, the first being Sir Laurence Oliver, and also the only person to win Best Actor for a non-English language film.
The storyline is simply how a man with a penchant for comedy and creating memorable experiences, happiness and having fun. He meets a woman who he calls his “Principessa” from their first meeting. They get married and have a son. Soon afterwards the Nazis invade Italy and all Jewish people are sent to concentration camps. He’s wife is not Jewish but they share such a close connection she refuses to stay behind and goes with them on the train. To ensure his son doesn’t suspect anything untoward he creates a game. This game manages to keep his son distracted the entire time and looking forward to winning the 1st prize, a tank! Please go and rent this movie, find it, watch it, and share it with everyone you can imagine. To my mind, this is one of the most beautiful stories ever. I salute Benigni and look forward to watching his version of Pinocchio soon.