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In Life is Beautiful, Roberto Benigni finds
love, comedy and beauty where you would least
expect it.

One of the most basic screenwriting rules
is that over the course of a film, a character
should change as they learn that what they
want is not what they need.

But what if we create a character whose want
is the same as his need?
A wise character who completely understands
himself and his world?
Enter Guido Orefice, a man defined by his
resilience.
Guido refuses to let the changing situation
change him - and as a result, he becomes one
of the most compelling characters in cinema.

The film is split into two acts separated
by location; Act 1 in Arezza and Act 2 in
the concentration camp, but in both, Guido’s
want remains the same: Guido wants to love.

But what defines Guido more than just the
love he wants or believes in are the tactics
he uses to overcome his obstacles.

One important aspect of Guido’s character
is his bravery and confidence.
After learning that a minister from Rome is
visiting the school where the woman he likes,
Dora, works as a teacher, Guido decides to
impersonate the minister, and his character
trait of confidence is shown as an endearing
tactic that he uses to get the love that he
wants.

In Arezza, the obstacle to Guido’s love
is the town official to whom Dora is engaged.
In the concentration camp, the obstacle to
his love is the Nazis.
But remember, Guido is one of those characters
who doesn’t change, nothing will break him.
So in both situations, Guido’s tactics of
confidence and bravery are the same.

This movie is a masterclass in setup and payoff.
In the first act, the phrase ‘Buongiorno,
Principessa!’ is used seven times, beginning
as a witty spontaneous greeting -

- and returning every time as a symbol of
Guido’s love for Dora.

The
seventh time the phrase is heard, it is actually
spoken by the couple’s son, Giosue.

Guido is so charismatic that he has rubbed
off onto his son, and now the phrase transforms
from a symbol of Guido’s love for Dora to
a symbol for the love of the family as a whole.
This is an important setup because a few scenes
before Dora hears the loudspeaker, she is
told that all the children in the camp will
be exterminated in a gas chamber under the
guise of taking a shower.
So Dora becomes deathly worried for the life
of her son and so when Guido says ‘Buon
Giorno, Principessa!’ on the loudspeaker,
it is an affirmation that they are both alive, that they both love her.

In fact this scene sets up many story elements.
Giosue protests against cleaning himself in
the shower.

This defiance, a tactic received from his
father, becomes what Giosue needs in the concentration
camp.

And this scene also sets up a prop you can
hide in - the nightstand - which is later
paid off as the metal cabinet.

But perhaps my favourite setup and payoff
in this scene - and the whole film - is that
of Schopenhauer.

19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer
saw that the world was full of sickness, old
age, pain, and death, and thought that this
world must be the work of a devil, who delights
in our sufferings.
He saw human suffering as the result of our
instinctual desires.

and then paid off -

set up again -

and paid off one final time.

In real life, there’s no way this would
work.
But this is fiction.
Remember, Guido is such a compelling character
because he is so confident in himself.
He doesn’t need to listen to the guards,
the racist Italian scientists, or even Schopenhauer
- he needs only to listen to himself.
And with a little imagination, that self-confidence
and that bravery - well, it pays off.

The tragedy of the Holocaust is not something
to laugh at.
But it’s definitely something you can laugh
against.
In Life is Beautiful, Benigni shows us that
the most beautiful thing about life is you.
So stay true to yourself.
And if you can learn to love others with the
same confidence with which you love yourself,
then you can find the beauty in just about
anything.