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SCMP Reporter

Italian actor-director Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful)  is a genius at  finding love and  laughter in  tragic events.

His latest film, The Tiger and The Snow, is a love story set in wartime Iraq. It's a romantic comedy that borders on tragedy.

Benigni plays Attilio, an Italian poet and university lecturer. His love interest, Vittoria, (Nicoletta Braschi),  is writing  the biography of Fuad (Jean Reno), a  famous Iraqi poet.  She follows  Fuad to Baghdad, but  is  badly injured in an air raid during  a US-led invasion.

After hearing the terrible news, Attilio - driven by his love for Vittoria -  travels  to Iraq and finds  the woman of his dreams lying unconscious  in a poorly-equipped hospital.

Attilio and Fuad embark on a chaotic  search through Baghdad to find the drug that doctors say will  save Vittoria's life.

As a director, Benigni  handles the plot's grave subject matter with a deft touch.  Attilio deals  with minefields, looters, bombings  and other horrors of  war in scenes that are both comical and  poignant.

Attilio's passion for Vittoria contrasts with  Fuad's love for his home country and shows the absurdities of war and the nobility of selfless love.

There is a beautiful  scene in which Attilio and Fuad talk about love and life while watching missiles fly  across the starry sky like fireworks.

The movie's major letdown  is Benigni's acting.  The film is at its  best when  he stops talking hysterically, but such moments are rare.

Some movie-goers may find his jokes and antics hilarious, but his noisy, attention-seeking  performance drains much of the story's drama and emotions. The film often resembles an  irritating stand-up comedy act.

Braschi and Reno are wonderful actors, but they have little opportunity to shine in the film, as  Benigni is too eager to take centre stage. There is a fine line between funny and  egotistic, and Benigni doesn't  tread it well.

VERDICT: GO TO THE MOVIES



Romantic sparks fly during war