Review of The Tiger and the Snow

This was a major disappointment, especially after the profound "La Vita e' Bella". Have been a great fan of Benigni for years since "Down By Law". Interestingly, the "usual suspects" are rounded up again as the same Tom Waits from that flick of twenty years ago is recruited to appear in this one in the part of a musician in a marriage. The sets are simplistic and theatrical. The characters overloaded with mannerisms that better work in theater than on the silver screen. The plot is overly centered on Benigni, as if the entire movie is only about him. There are many mini-plots that are basically recycled comedy-circuit gags (something Benigni has done plenty in Pinocchio). I am somewhat surprised that seasoned producers decided to finance this motion picture. It seems that analysts did not do a good job in measuring what audience it would address, which ends up only being Benigni fans residing in Italy. The end result is hardly an export cash cow, as La Vita E' Bella turned out to be. To gain some traction in the export market, a motion picture should have some depth in character development, which this motion picture completely lacks. A point of interest, however, is the portrayal of American soldiers and Iraqi prisoners in post-war Iraq. This could be the first fictional motion picture with such a portrait. The very young Marines are seen in a sympathetic light.