Daily Dialogue — November 5, 2011

[pretending to translate] “The game starts now. You have to score one thousand points. If you do that, you take home a tank with a big gun. Each day we will announce the scores from that loudspeaker. The one who has the fewest points will have to wear a sign that says “Jackass” on his back. There are three ways to lose points. One, turning into a big crybaby. Two, telling us you want to see your mommy. Three, saying you’re hungry and want something to eat.”

— Guido (Roberto Benigni), Life Is Beautiful (1997), written by Vincenzo Cerami and Roberto Benigni

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The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is lies.

Trivia: Roberto Benigni says the title comes from a quote by Leon Trotsky. In exile in Mexico, knowing he was about to be killed by Joseph Stalin’s assassins, he saw his wife in the garden and wrote that, in spite of everything, “life is beautiful”.

Dialogue On Dialogue: The entire conceit of the relationship between Guido and his son in the prison camp is based upon the fabrication the father creates to protect the boy.