Download AS 1.5: VISUAL AND ORAL TEXTS: Film: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL

AS 1.5: VISUAL AND ORAL TEXTS: Film: LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL
SETTING
Setting refers to the time, place and context (=social, cultural and historical background). Note
that period in time is not the same as period of time.
A film may have more than one setting. Within a film there may be important changes in
setting, each one conveying a different mood or atmosphere.
Setting clues might be costumes, props, background scenery, music, characters and dialogue.
Settings may be an important element in presenting key themes. The director’s purpose may be
to present key ideas against this background.
Answer these questions:
1. Over what period of time does the story take place?
The film begins in 19____ (just before World War 2) and finishes in 19____ (near the
end of WW2). It therefore spans a period of ________ years.
2. What are the two key places in the film?
 A________________: a city in central Italy, located in Tuscany. Arezzo is about 80 km southeast of Florence, at an elevation of 296 meters above sea level. It is an historic city, with many
beautiful buildings and a famous central square.
It is here that Guido leads a relatively normal existence before the war. He works for his
Uncle Eliseo and meets his wife Dora. However, there are signs of the persecution of
Jews, e.g. ________________________________________________________________

A _______________________ camp (unnamed). It was one that was liberated by the
United States and therefore not Auschwitz. It may have been Dachau (in the southern
German province of Bavaria, near Munich).
Just after Guido and Dora consummate their relationship, the film jumps forward 4-5
years. Guido and Dora have had a son Joshua. He and Guido are transported to a
German concentration camp. Most of these camps were in Poland and southern
Germany.

In what ways do these two places have a contrasting mood and atmosphere? Elaborate.
3. What is the context?
The wider context is Fascist Italy, ruled by Benito M____________________ from 1922
to 1943 (King Victor Emmanuel III was merely a figurehead). Mussolini was a staunch
ally of Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany (an official in the film calls his two misbehaving sons
Benito and Adolf). The Fascist Party in Italy had very similar views and policies to the
Nazi Party in Germany.
Nazi thinking is strongly represented in the film, e.g. when Guido impersonates the
school inspector, he has to give an impromptu talk about the A______________
__________ of a superior European race. They blamed those they saw as inferior races,
especially the Jews, for all the misfortunes that the nation had experienced.
Nazi policy is also strongly represented, e.g. the “F___________ S_________________”
to the “Jewish problem”, which was to establish e_______________________________
camps from 1942 onwards. Six million Jews died during the H______________________
THE HOLOCAUST
Life is beautiful is set during the Holocaust. The Holocaust occurred during World war 2
when Hitler imprisoned and killed millions of Jews. Hitler wanted an entire race of
Anglo-Saxons, and he felt the olive-skinned Jews were getting in his way. He also blamed
them for social and economic ills. Hitler’s Holocaust is the worst mass killing the world
has ever seen.
The themes in the story could have been put into many different settings, but they are
truly memorable in the context of the Holocaust. Some of the worst horrors humans
have known are coupled with great and sacrificial love. Guido could have sacrificed his
life for his son anywhere, but for him to sacrifice it in the midst of the horrors of the
concentration camp is more than anyone could have asked.
The film was made many years after the Holocaust, and it served to remind viewers of
the horrors of that time. Many people were not alive during the Holocaust and this film
helped them to understand the terrors of it without being depressing or gruesome. The
film is laced with humour that makes the Holocaust all the more serious as Guido tries
to protect Giosuy (Joshua) during their time in the concentration camp.
4. What are the setting clues?
- 1940s _____________________: men wear hats; little boy in shorts, shirt and cap.
- German l__________________, swastika, army uniforms, tanks.
- B_____________________ in concentration camp: stark dormitories, gas chambers,
crematorium.
- Others:
5. A major theme of this film is that the individual can triumph over enormous difficulties if
he/she has courage. Write a paragraph describing how the setting carries this theme?
The background and sets make the story come to life. Since it was shot in Italy, the landscape
rings true, but so do the scenes shot in the concentration camp. The realism of the camp does
not make the film less optimistic, but rather it provides a real background to show the triumph
of the human spirit as optimism wins out over hate. Throughout the film, the story plays out
against the settings of beautiful landscapes as well as the horrible scenes of discrimination,
hatred and war.