* BrokenBase: Aside from the debate whether the movie is a superb {{Dramedy}} about the Holocaust, or is ultimately tasteless and offensive, there's another contentious about the good faith of the movie: the liberation of the camp by the ''U.S.'' army. This is caused by the CommonKnowledge that the movie takes place in Auschwitz, which was actually liberated by the ''Soviet'' army. The movie never openly states where the camp is located, though the widespread assumption isn't entirely baseless, since Auschwitz is where most Italian Jews were deported (camps in Western Europe were usually used for political prisoners). Benigni himself defended his own choice, saying that the camp in the movie is "'the' concentration camp": an idealised camp representing all those where the Holocaust took place. Some people support Benigni's interpretation, or in general find the matter to be an AcceptableBreakFromReality given the theme of the story. Many among critics and audience, however, found it an offensive use of the ubiquitous AmericaWonWorldWarII trope, that yet again undervalues the Soviet role in liberating the concentration camps. Some downright accuse Benigni of having conveniently done that to pander to Western audiences and ensure the movie's reception as an OscarBait that wouldn't have been otherwise.
* CommonKnowledge: As mentioned above, many people are convinced that the movie takes place in Auschwitz. The movie however never specifies that; furthermore, while Auschwitz is in flat land, the movie's camp has mountains in the background. This widespread assumption however isn't entirely unjustifiable: the overwhelming majority of Italian Jews was deported to Auschwitz, while most Italians deported to Western European camps were political prisoners.
* EsotericHappyEnding: [[spoiler:The movie conveniently ends before the boy inevitably finds out that his father is dead.]] It is probably for this reason that voice-overs of the boy as an adult were later added to the movie.
* {{Glurge}}: While the film is technically VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory and was enjoyed by plenty of Holocaust survivors (including Benigni's own father); the perceived sentimentality of its message that someone, if not anyone could overcome the shell-shock of living through the incomparable horrors of UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust just because of their hopes and optimism has not been without harsh criticism.
--> '''Creator/MelBrooks''': Creator/RobertoBenigni's comedy ''Life Is Beautiful'' really annoyed me. A crazy film that even attempted to find comedy in a concentration camp. It showed the barracks in which Jews were kept like cattle, and it [[DudeNotFunny made jokes about it]]. The philosophy of the film is: people can get over anything. No, they can't. They can't get over a concentration camp.
* HilariousInHindsight: In one of the iconic scenes of the film, Guido "translates" the orders yelled by a Nazi into completely unrelated things invented on the spot, to make his son believe that the camp is actually a game. Looks like Creator/RobertoBenigni was the precursors of a popular meme, in which [[WebVideo/HitlerRants the words of another German guy are translated into something completely different.]]
* SpiritualSuccessor: Often considered to be the closest thing we'll ever get to actually seeing ''Film/TheDayTheClownCried'', and in some cases a good indicator as to why that movie has never been shown publicly.
* ValuesDissonance: The above controversies notwithstanding, the wacky rom-com antics of the first half involve a great deal of unsolicited touching, stalking and deception of someone who initially does nothing to encourage the advances. Granted, the antics are no worse in these regards than many rom-coms (and considerably better than some, especially since Dora is clearly shown to appreciate them), but they can certainly raise eyebrows twenty years later.
----