''Life Is Beautiful'' ( it, La vita è bella, russian: Жизнь прекрасна, Zhizn prekrasna, also known as ''Betrayed'') is a 1979 Italian-Soviet

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

directed by

Grigory Chukhray Grigory Naumovich Chukhray (russian: Григо́рий Нау́мович Чухра́й; uk, Григорiй Наумович Чухрай; 23 May 1921 – 28 October 2001) was a Ukrainian Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. ...

Plot

The action takes place in an unnamed country (in foreign versions of the film the country is

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

during Salazar's reign), ruled by a military

junta Junta may refer to: Government and military * Junta (governing body) (from Spanish), the name of various historical and current governments and governing institutions, including civil ones ** Military junta, one form of junta, government led by ...

which violently suppresses any free thought. Antonio Murillo is a former military pilot who was dismissed from the army for refusing to sink a ship loaded with refugees. Now he drives a taxi and periodically becomes a witness to the despotism of the authorities. His girlfriend Mary, waitress, is a member of an underground movement fighting against the dictatorship. Antonio, for all his dislike of the junta is not interested in politics, his dream is to save money and to become a pilot again, and to own a private plane. But once he drives a man on his taxi, who turns out to be on the side of the opposition. This causes him to come to the attention of the special services. Because of that provocateur he ends up going to prison, where there are several members of the underground and ends up subjected to torture. Through ingenuity and mechanic skills he manages to save the life of underground fighters, disrupting the arranged provocation caused by the warden, and then organize an escape from prison. Together with Maria, Antonio in a stolen taxi gets away from the police, and then uses a hijacked plane to leave the country.

Cast

Giancarlo Giannini Giancarlo Giannini (born 1 August 1942) is an Italian actor and voice actor. He won the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for his performance in ''Love and Anarchy'' (1973) and received an Academy Award nomination for ''Seven Beauties' ...

: Antonio Murillo *

Ornella Muti Ornella Muti (born Francesca Romana Rivelli; 9 March 1955) is an Italian actress. She made her film debut as Francesca Cimarosa in the 1970 film ''La moglie più bella.'' Early life Muti was born in Rome to a Neapolitan journalist father and I ...

: Maria *

Stefano Madia Stefano Madia (31 December 1954 – 16 December 2004) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in twelve films between 1978 and 1993. At the 1979 Cannes Film Festival he won the award for Best Supporting Actor, for Vittorio Gassman's film '' D ...

: Paco *

Enzo Fiermonte Enzo Fiermonte (17 July 1908 – 22 March 1993), sometimes credited as William Bird, was an Italian actor and boxer. Early life Vincenzo "Enzo" Fiermonte was born on 17 July 1908 in Casamassima, a rural village near Bari, in southern Italy to D ...

: Maria's uncle *

Luigi Montini Luigi Montini (born 24 February 1934) is an Italian actor in over a hundred films and TV shows since 1962. Selected filmography External links * 1934 births Living people Italian male film actors {{Italy-film-actor-stub ...

: episode *

Regimantas Adomaitis Regimantas Adomaitis (31 January 1937 – 20 June 2022) was a Lithuanian film and stage actor. He was also active in Russia and Germany. Career Adomaitis was born in Šiauliai. He graduated from the Faculty of Physics and Mathematics at Vilniu ...

: investigator Perez (voiced by

Vadim Spiridonov Vadim Semyonovich Spiridonov (russian: Вадим Семёнович Спиридонов; 14 October 1944 – 7 December 1989) was a Soviet film actor, film director. Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1984). Winner of the State Prize of the USSR (19 ...

) *

Otar Koberidze Otar Leontyevich Koberidze ( ka, ოთარ კობერიძე; 17 December 1924 – 9 March 2015) was a Georgian actor, film director and screenwriter. Biography Koberidze was born in Tiflis, Georgian SSR (now Tbilisi, Georgia), where he g ...

: Alvarado (voiced by

Vladimir Druzhnikov Vladimir Vasilievich Druzhnikov (russian: Влади́мир Васи́льевич Дру́жников; 30 May 1922 – 20 February 1994) was a Soviet actor. He appeared in more than 40 films between 1945 and 1992. He was a People's Artist ...

) *

Juozas Budraitis Juozas Budraitis (born 6 October 1940) is a Lithuanian actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 1966. He starred in the Soviet film ''Wounded Game'', which was entered into the 1977 Cannes Film Festival. Budraitis ...

: Gomes *

Yevgeni Lebedev Yevgeni Alekseyevich Lebedev ( rus, Евгeний Алeксeeвич Лeбeдeв, , ɪ̯ɪvˈɡʲenʲɪɪ̯ ɐlʲɪˈkseɪvʲɪt͡ɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; January 15, 1917, Balakovo – June 9, 1997, Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet and Russian actor a ...

: Rostao * Stanislav Chekan: prisoner *

Igor Yasulovich Igor Nikolayevich Yasulovich (russian: Игорь Николаевич Ясулович; born 24 September 1941) is a Soviet and Russian film and theater actor, film director and pedagogue. Biography Yasulovich was born in the village of Reinsfe ...

: prisoner * Mikhail Remizov: Osario

References

External links

*
''Life Is Beautiful''
at

Variety Distribution Variety Distribution is an Italian-based film distribution company. It distributes Italian films worldwide, produced from the 1930s onward. History Variety Distribution (formerly Variety Film and Variety Communications) has been in the film ...

1979 films Italian romantic drama films Russian romantic drama films Mosfilm films Soviet romantic drama films 1979 romantic drama films Films set in Lisbon Political thriller films Soviet multilingual films Italian multilingual films 1979 multilingual films Films scored by Armando Trovajoli {{romantic-drama-film-stub Films directed by Grigori Chukhrai 1970s Italian films