- When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
- In 1930s Italy, a carefree Jewish waiter-turned-bookseller named Guido starts a fairy tale life by courting and marrying a lovely woman teacher named Dora. Guido and Dora have a son named Joshua and live happily together until the forced deportation of the town's Jewish population in cattle cars. Dora, while not required to be deported, volunteers to leave with her family, and they are all forced to live in a concentration camp. In an attempt to hold his family together and help his son survive the horrors of a concentration camp, Guido imagines that the Holocaust is a game and that the grand prize for winning is a tank.—Anthony Hughes <husnock31@hotmail.com>
- In 1939, Jewish-Italian Guido Orefice comes into Arezzo, Italy, ultimately to open a book store. In the meantime, he will work as a waiter at the hotel restaurant where his Uncle Eliseo is the maître d'. In town, he meets a school teacher named Dora, who he calls Princess and who comes from a wealthy Italian family. For him, it's love at first sight. Despite she already being in a relationship with another man, Guido ultimately sweeps her off her feet. They get married and have a son they name Giosué. On Giosué's fifth birthday, World War II is in full force. Since they are Jewish, the Germans take away Guido, Eliseo and Giosué to a labor camp. Wanting to be with her family, Dora insists she be taken too, but she is housed in the women's side of the camp. To protect Giosué from the horror of what is happening to them, Guido tells him that they are playing a game, certain actions which garner points, other actions which take points away or disqualify one from the game. The first to reach 1,000 points wins the prize of a real tank. Guido's primary goal is to keep Giosué safe at all cost, while he tries to figure out a way to get his family out of the camp and keep the Germans at bay from learning what he is doing with Giosué.—Huggo
- A gentle Jewish-Italian waiter, Guido Orefice, meets Dora, a pretty schoolteacher, and wins her over with his charm and humor. Eventually they marry and have a son, Giosue. Their happiness is abruptly halted, however, when Guido and Giosue are separated from Dora and taken to a concentration camp. Determined to shelter his son from the horrors of his surroundings, Guido convinces Giosue that their time in the camp is merely a game.—Jwelch5742
- On the threshold of a new dark era, the mirthful Jewish-Italian, Guido Orefice, arrives in late 1930s Arezzo, in high hopes of starting afresh. Dreaming of opening a small bookshop, instead, the free-spirited optimist finds true love in the person of his princess--the gentle local school teacher, Dora--and their sweet fairy-tale love story blooms into a happy married life and a son named Giosué. However, against the backdrop of the great war's atrocities and the Germans' retreat in 1945, the Fascists round up Guido, his child, and the town's Jewish citizens to ship them to a nightmarish concentration camp to meet their fate at the hands of the Nazis. But, in Giosué's eyes, this strange new situation is nothing but an exciting challenge to win a glorious grand prize--resilient Guido's desperate attempt to shield the innocent boy from the horrors of the death camp. Will Giosué win the contest? Is life more beautiful beyond the grown-ups' absurd world?—Nick Riganas
- Set in late 1930s, Arezzo, Italy, Jewish waiter Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni) uses cunning wit to win over an Italian schoolteacher, Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), who's set to marry another man. Charming her with "Buongiorno, Principessa!", getting the timing perfect every time, and whisking her away on a green horse (don't ask!) ensures they soon live together happily in Guido's uncle, Eliseo Orefice's (Giustino Durano), house. Bringing up their 5 year old boy, Giosué (Giorgio Cantarini), the war continues without them noticing until one fateful day when the Germans arrest Guido and his son at the uncle's house during preparation for Giosué's birthday party, and transfer them to a concentration camp. Dora demands to be taken too, thus Guido is devastated to see his non-Jewish wife board the train.
Protecting his son from the vile truth, Guido tells Giosué that they are just on a big hoilday, and he turns the camp into a big game for Giosué, claiming that they must win 1000 points to win a real tank and leave. His elderly uncle, however, is on a different "team" and is lead towards the showers first. Guido must complete "tasks" for the camp "moderators" (ie. the Nazi SS), while avoiding the impending fate with everything he can offer. His quick thinking saves Giosué from the truth when a German officer requires a translator. Despite not speaking a word of German, Guido steps forward and makes up the "Regole del Campo" from the German's body language, claiming that tanks, scoreboards and games of Hide and Seek litter the camp, while cleverly stating that Giosué cannot cry, ask for his mother or declared he's hungry, resulting in the loss of the "game", in other words, death.
Giosué later refuses to take a shower, and unknowingly escapes being gassed, so Guido hides him with the help of other Italian prisoners, since there are no other children. Playing messages over the tannoy for Dora, kept prisoner on the other side of the camp, the family build up hope, only for it to be diminished by the SS. With the help of Guido's former German friend, Herr Lessing, Guido can hide Giosué amongst the German children, while waiting the German Officer's meals. With the days becoming steadily worse, Guido realises that time is short and that he must make certain sacrifices if his son is ever to see the tanks roll over the hills, and be reunited with his mother. Giosué is pessimistic, and doesn't believe that there are any real tanks or games.
Hiding Giosué in a junction box for the last time, telling him that everyone is looking for him, Guido jeapordises his own survival to prevent the Germans discovering Giosué, while he attempts to free Dora, giving his own life away at the same time. The Americans break into the seemingly deserted camp the following morning. Giosué emerges just as a tank pulls around the corner. Hitching a lift out, Giosué soon spots his mother and the film closes.
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