Roberto Benigni follows up his Oscar winning Life is Beautiful with another whimsical romantic comedy. He is Attilio, a college professor, divorced, with two teenage daughters. He is hopelessly in love with Vittorio(Nicoletta Braschi), a writer who travels to Iraq to write a book about Fuad, a poet in exile who is also a friend of Attilio. It is during the Iraqi war and Vittoria is seriously wounded and in a coma.
Attilio goes to Baghdad to save the love of his life by posing as a doctor to obtain medicine from the Italian Red Cross. He succeeds and checks back with Fuad with a very sad scene.
The American military pick up Attilio, mistakenly believing him to be a terrorist, a funny and comically absurd part of the story.
The ending is somewhat of a Hollywood kind of finish to The Tiger and the Snow a passable diversion; but not at the level of Life is Beautiful.
One additional plus is Tom Waits singing and playing a piano at a surreal wedding scene.
Attilio goes to Baghdad to save the love of his life by posing as a doctor to obtain medicine from the Italian Red Cross. He succeeds and checks back with Fuad with a very sad scene.
The American military pick up Attilio, mistakenly believing him to be a terrorist, a funny and comically absurd part of the story.
The ending is somewhat of a Hollywood kind of finish to The Tiger and the Snow a passable diversion; but not at the level of Life is Beautiful.
One additional plus is Tom Waits singing and playing a piano at a surreal wedding scene.