Life Is Beautiful
Recommended. Age: 13+. A Catholic review of this movie for parents.
Our review
A funny Italian man wins the heart of a teacher, and they have a little boy. Then the family is sent to a Nazi prison camp. The father pretends it is all a game so his son will not be afraid. This is a fable about a father who gives everything, at the end his own life, so his child can keep his innocence. The first half is slapstick romance. The second half shows the camp, a gas chamber death off screen and the father's execution. The one age is 13, set equally by the A-II Catholic classification, the PG-13 rating and Common Sense Media's 13+.
For parents
Our one age is 13. The Catholic classification A-II, the PG-13 rating and Common Sense Media's 13+ all agree, and Decent Films says Teens & Up. Common Sense notes torture, hangings and gas chamber murders are discussed, with occasional bloody images and a major character's death. Things to talk about: Guido lies to his son to protect him. The Church teaches that a lie is never good, even a kind one, though a lie told to help someone is a lighter sin. Ask what else a father could say. Some critics say the film makes the Holocaust too soft. Read real history with your teen afterward so the fable does not replace the facts. Also notice Guido wins Dora away from a man she is engaged to. Ask: what did Guido give up for his son? Why does the grown Giosue call it his father's gift?