Just imagine.

*Please pardon me for the onslaught of blog entries because if I don't get them outta my system now, they would prolly never be written!*

I watched La vita è bella earlier on this afternoon. It was one of the many DVDs I borrowed from our school library to tide me through the summer holidays. You have no idea just how many movies I've watched while I'm in Australia. There's always tons of movies airing on TV and I've borrowed alot from Brisbane Square Library and QUT Library. =D

This is my first Italian movie and I really liked it (the main character Guido is just so comical and he talks at a thousand words per minute like a rapid-firing machine gun hahah!). It's whimsical, and started off as a bit of a romantic comedy but it isn't one. What amazed me was just how imaginative and convincing he was. In the later half of the movie, his family was sent to a concentration camp during the war. He managed to shield his son Joshua from the harsh reality by conjuring a story and turning the camp into a 'game', where the winner will win a real tank and get to leave the camp when they achieve a thousand points.

I really admire him for being able to keep up with the facade without letting the camp break his spirit and let slip the grim truth to his son. I think hardly any parents would be able to do that. Where most could only see the negativity of Life, he manages to turn around and paint a better picture of things. I wonder just how many parents these days would shelter their kids from harsh reality, keep them in a safe bubble in a bid to retain and prolong their innocence instead of bombarding them with how tough Life is, etc. The story had a slightly sad ending, with the father sacrificing his life in the end to give his son a chance to live. I can't emphasize just how much I like it, but I'll watch it again before I return it to the library.