An introduction to Italian movies
Last updated: March 19, 2026
Life is Beautiful
During the second world war an Italian Jewish family is brought to a concentration camp together. Guido, his uncle Eliseo and his son Giosuè are separated from his wife Dora at the camp as women and men live separately. Soon after their arrival Eliseo is killed in a gas chamber. To keep their spirits up and protect his son from the real horrors of what’s going on, Guido pretends the whole thing is a game. He tells Giosuè that if he follows all the rules and hides from the guards he’ll get points and the one with the most points at the end wins a tank. While hijacking the camp’s loudspeaker to assure Dora of his and Giosuè safety Guido does all sorts of tricks and hijinks to further convince his son that it’s all just a game.
Benvenuti al Sud
With a wish to be transferred to Milan, postmaster Alberto makes a big blunder with one of his transfers. He feigns paraplegia to get the transfer anyway but reveals himself when he stands up in front of the inspector for verification. As punishment he is instead transferred to the South, which only has bad stereotypes of being rundown with the mafia, having dirty streets and stifling heat. However, after having prepared for the worst, Alberto starts to make friends with locals and realizes all the terrible rumors are not true. But he has been lying to his wife back home as she is biased towards the south and believes all the bad rumors. So when his wife decides to visit Alberto has come clean to his new friends about the badmouthing and to his wife about the lies.
7 Women and a Murder
Five related women, their maid and their neighbour find the husband and father of the house stabbed to death after they’ve all reunited for the Christmas Holidays. Finding the phone lines cut and the cars tampered with they realize they’re stuck to solve the mystery themselves. After having revealed the secret that one of the daughters are not related to the father, the grandmother is hit over the head and stowed away to prevent more secrets being revealed. Later while trying to scale the gates to escape a scream from the house brings the women back. There the maid finally realizes what the truth of the mystery is.
Cinema Paradiso
After having heard of the passing of his hometown's old movie projectionist, Alfredo, Salvatore Di Vita starts to reminisce of his childhood. As an adult he works as a movie director but it was at the old movie house, Cinema Paradiso, that he fell in love with movies as a child. He befriended Alfredo who showed him how to use the projector. But when the movie house one day caught on fire an explosion left Alfredo permanently blind. Salvatore took up the job as projectionist once the house was rebuilt since he was the only one who knew how to use it. Later on as an adult, after having come back from military service, Alfredo urges Salvatore to leave their small town and to never look back to really pursue his dream of moviemaking. Salvatore takes the advice of his old friend and never returned until the day of Alfredo's funeral. Where he learns how strong their bond really was.
Traveling from Italy to China, here are movie tips for the Chinese New Year that can be watched any time of the year!
