Roberto Benigni: the brilliant genius of film art

This year, the celebrated actor, screenwriter and director Roberto Benigni turns 64 years old. For many years, this amazingly bright man of art helps the world look at the troubles, difficulties, tragedies, injustice through the eyes of optimism.

Poverty and optimism

Roberto Benigni was born in 1952 in one of the most poverty-stricken villages in Toscana called Misericordia. It was symbolic that from Italian this word is translated as charity. The Benigni family lived a miserable existence, but the cruelty and inflexibility of those times, which affected everyone equally, allowed his parents to remain optimistic and try to get on their feet. For his father, this was a particularly difficult period. The sick, exhausted by hunger, constant wanderings and searches of an opportunity to earn, Luigi could not provide a family even with a roof. Shortly before the birth of Roberto, he had to go through the test of a concentration camp, where he was mistaken. Despite all the sorrows that Luigi had suffered, he did not allow himself to lose heart, especially in the presence of children. On the contrary, he tried to present the gloomy events of his past easily and unpretentiously, often with humor, so that neither Roberto nor his sisters were aware of the tragedy of their father's trials. Then, years later, Roberto realized how hard Luigi was given these stories, but, appreciating his father's courage and his bright view of life, paid tribute to these stories in his brilliant work called "Life is Beautiful."

School? Cramming? Well, no, the future genius has another way!

Born in poverty and wandering, in his childhood Roberto suffered from a variety of diseases that lay in wait for him at every turn, was very small and too thin compared to his peers. However, in addition to his frail physique, he was distinguished from everyone else by the liveliness of his mind, his bright imagination and incredible activity. The merits of the character of Roberto were especially appreciated by the local clergyman who led the school classes. It was he who contributed to the fact that soon the boy was sent to study at the Florentine school of the Jesuits. However much the joy of the parents, who could not even imagine that their son would study in such a place, Roberto did not last long among diligent students and at the first opportunity made a real escape.

Charm of magic in the circus

Voluntary wanderings led him to a wandering circus, the time he spent in, he considers the happiest in his life. And how can you not be proud of such a grandiose stage in life: a twelve-year-old child received his first real work - an assistant to an illusionist. Impressive boy enjoyed the stay in the circus, the atmosphere of which was full of magic and unknown miracles. But having become acquainted with the life of circus artists closer, Benigni came to the conclusion that he was not ready to work so hard in the name of a new profession, since this work very much reminded him of a boring education in a disgraced school.

Return to books is inevitable

Returning to Roberto's native village was not easy. He devoted a lot of time to reflections on what to do where he grew up. Physical labor repelled no less than the school cramming, there was no profession, therefore Roberto decided to direct his energy into a poetic channel. His corporate style was a poem of eight lines, which quickly fell in love with local residents for their capacity, sharpness and topicality. No sooner had Roberto become a local favorite, as Rome beckoned him ...

This city has changed Benigni beyond recognition. Future colleagues in the creative craft treated him as a rough-hewn peasant who did not hold a book in his hands. Several times Roberto painfully burned his own ignorance, after which he had to change attitudes to learning, and all night long he began to devote himself to the study of literature.

Good memory, ingenuity, the ability to analyze and notice the main thing did their job: a few months later, and Benigni turned into an interesting interlocutor who skillfully competed with erudite and arrogant Italians in the knowledge of world classics.

Formations of the artist, the first roles

In the future, the success did not take long: there followed a series of significant roles in theatrical productions, speeches with satirical monologues, a fateful acquaintance with Giuseppe and Bernardo Bertolucci, who made a significant contribution to the formation of the artist Roberto Benigni. The filmography of the genius was supplemented with roles in the films of these outstanding directors: "Berlinguer, I Love You" and "The Moon". 1990 brought him a role in the picture Federico Fellini "The Voice of the Moon." In the 80-90s, actor Roberto Benigni made his debut in American cinema, and successfully delivered his own paintings.

"Life is Beautiful"

Truly triumphant was the appearance on the screens of the picture "Life is Beautiful", which was subsequently awarded three Academy Awards. Italy rejoiced with Roberto Benigni himself. A photo of the artist's happy face decorated hundreds of prints. And his eccentric way out for the award on stage was almost a legend.

The life of Roberto Benigni is not only a story of creative success and genius, but also a story of great love. In 1991, his wife became the actress Nicoletta Braschi, since then the pair is inseparable. Moreover, in relation to his wife, Roberto's eccentricity has reached its limit. In most of his films, the main role is played by Nicoletta, and in the role of a man in love with her, most often he himself. And this fad of the genius artist is also admired by his devoted fans.