How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Life Is Beautiful.
Quote #4
GUIDO: They just don't want Jews or dogs to go in. Everybody does what they want to. There's a hardware store there. They don't let Spanish people or horses into his store. Further ahead, there's a drugstore. I was with a Chinese friend of mine yesterday who had a kangaroo. I said, "May we?" "No, we don't want any Chinese or kangaroos here." They don't like them. What can I tell you?
JOSHUA: We let everybody into our bookshop.
GUIDO: No. From now on, we'll write it too. Is there anybody you don't like?
JOSHUA: Spiders. What about you?
GUIDO: I don't like Visigoths. Starting tomorrow we'll write, "No spiders and Visigoths allowed." I'm sick and tired of these Visigoths.
The second part of the movie pulls a switcheroo. While the first half was classic Hollywood rom-com, the second half focuses on a father's love for his son. Specifically, his wish to protect his son from reality's nastier side. Here, Guido uses his quick wit to keep his son from realizing the sad fact that some people will hate him for who he is.
Quote #5
DORA: There's been a mistake.
OFFICER: What mistake?
DORA: My husband and son are on that train.
OFFICER: What's your husband's name?
DORA: Guido Orefice.
OFFICER: Joshua Orefice…and Eliseo Orefice are on that train, too. There's no mistake.
DORA: I want to get on that train too.
Guido gets most of the grand gestures of love, but here, we see that Dora's love for her family is truly monumental. Not wishing her family separated, she chooses to go to the concentration camp, despite being an "acceptable" citizen in her society's eyes.
Life Is Beautiful's second half focuses on the sacrifices we make for the ones we love, and Dora's sacrifice is one of the film's premier examples of selflessness.
Quote #6
GUIDO: The game starts now. Whoever's here is here, whoever's not is not. The first one to get a thousand points wins. The prize is a tank! Lucky him. Every day we'll announce who's in the lead from that loudspeaker. The one with the least points has to wear a sign saying "jackass" right here on his back.
Guido's love for his son has him using his wits and imagination to hide the reality of their situation. This time, he has to hide the true nature of the camp, and he makes up this game on the spot with the Nazi guards standing right next to him. It's a difficult charade to keep up, and it takes its toll on poor Guido.