Fridae

In 1997, Italian comedian Roberto Benigni surprised everyone when his modest tragicomic romance set during the Holocaust, Life is Beautiful, went on to gross US$224 million worldwide and win three Oscars. Life was indeed beautiful for Roberto �X until his annoyingly unfunny update of Pinocchio in 2002 (with him playing Pinocchio, no less) tanked at the box-office.

Now Roberto is back with another tragicomic romance set during wartime �X this time, it is the Iraq War of 2003. He plays an Italian poet who falls in love with a literary scholar (Nicoletta Braschi, his real-life wife) who is researching on an Arab poet. When she is injured in a bombing in Iraq, he joins the Red Cross under the false pretence of being a doctor so that he can look for her. All manner of hilarity ensues, until he finally reaches her bedside...

If you found Life is Beautiful funny and touching, chances are high that you would like this too. However, if you thought that Life Was Too Melodramatic & Manipulative, then stay away from this one.

The surprising thing about The Tiger and the Snow is that it manages to be almost completely non-political despite being set in a political hot zone. Roberto has every right to be more interested in comedy and romance than politics. But for those of us who expect more substance in a film that is set in Iraq, this Tiger just seems a little toothless.