La Tigre e la neve ...

Roberto Benigni is one of the most passionate and enthusiastic actors I have ever seen. Plus he has this gift of producing movies with heart, and I mean, a lot of heart i.e. Life is Beautiful.

I may be biased, but I think The Tiger and The Snow has made an impact upon me more than Life is Beautiful. Maybe it's because I'm a sucker for enduring love. A love that gives and gives and gives from a seemingly endless source, with joy, without hope of ever being reciprocated.

It is a strange love story that started in Italy and had the hero dashing to Baghdad to save his lady love (who is his real-life wife, by the way). Being Asian, I was initially skeptical when I saw what the hero did in the name of love. Honestly, there is a limit as to what a person can do to win someone's love. Especially when it is deemed as a lost cause. But then again, I remembered that I was watching a movie. An Italian one at that. We know how passionate these Italians are in the way they talk and live life. And so I kissed my jaded mindset goodbye for the next 2 hours and settled down to truly enjoy the movie.

I went without any expectations whatsoever. And I was glad, because nothing could prepare me for the seemingly endless rollercoaster ride of emotions that the movie took me to. I laughed, bawled in tears and laughed yet again and again and again. But amidst the laughter and the tears, there were political undertones and messages that were subtly portrayed. The unfolding of the complicated love story was masterfully done and at the end, we all went, "Aha...! No wonder lar..." Any movie who can give me that 'Aha' moment is a great movie by my books.

But most of all, I was drawn by the hero who loved so much, sacrificed so much without much thought, who never gave up on love and life and never even sought to reveal what he did to his loved one - all for a love that may never be reciprocated - that's just so darn touching.

Love never fails ~ 1 Corinthians 13:8

Funniest line in the movie: "I can't believe I just ran out of gas. In Iraq. Imagine that. Iraq!"

The mysterious poem on the chalkboard (in Italian):

I do not know the width of the sea, nor the moon's girth.
But I know of life, of death, of birth...

Two words: Watch it.