Reader Question: How can a movie succeed if characters don’t have an arc?

Question from Jeff:

I was discussing Life is Beautiful with a friend recently. It’s my favorite movie and I consider it a masterclass in film making. But I realized something strange. None of the characters has an arc. Neither the father nor the mother nor the son changes or grows in the film. They are simply good people from the beginning and they remain so. Why do you think this works in Life is Beautiful when it’s practically screenwriting rule #1 to make as many of your characters arc as possible?

It’s been a while since I’ve seen Life Is Beautiful, but as I recall the little boy Giosué, the son of Guido (Roberto Bergnini), does begin to doubt the truthfulness of the ‘game’ Guido has been telling him about during their time in the concentration camp. Of course, the ending is both sad and magical in that the long-promised tanks do appear to save the son and his mother. That’s a subtle arc for the boy — Belief / Doubt / Salvation — but an arc nonetheless.

Per Guido, at one level we can look at his story as being about steadfastness, clinging to the game as a means to protect his son from the awful truth surrounding them and keeping him hidden. And so the fact he stays the course with such purposefulness throughout is one of the main thematic points: In the face of eventual annihilation, Guido persists. And so one could say his lack of an arc by maintaining his hopefulness is central to his character’s story.

But then I wonder if there is a subtle arc for his character as well. He begins a carefree fellow who fully enjoys his life, then thrust into in the concentration camp, Guido symbolically gives his fate over to his son by concocting the lie of the ‘game.’ Once begun, he has a choice every step of the way: To continue with the lie in order to protect his son or tell the truth and risk his son’s life. Guido persists with the lie, each time a selfless act. Then he takes the final step: With his death, he moves beyond symbolism to literally giving up his life for his son. If that is accurate, then not only does it suggest a character arc, it also speaks to a measure of growth on Guido’s part.

What do you think? Do you think the characters in Life Is Beautiful don’t have an arc? Or do they? Must characters change in a story? Or is it possible to tell a story that works where characters don’t grow? And perhaps most important, why is metamorphosis such a common theme in movies?

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