The Tiger and the Snow

The Tiger and the Snow (Italian: La tigre e la neve) is a 2005 Italian comedy-drama film starring and directed by Roberto Benigni. Inspired by the fairy tale Sleeping Beauty, the film is set in Rome and Baghdad during the invasion of Iraq in 2003, and follows the protagonist Attilio as he desperately journeys to Baghdad to save the love of his life, Vittoria, from her impending death. Plot In 2003 Italy, Attilio de Giovanni, a comical and impassioned poetry professor and the divorced father of two teenage girls, is hopelessly in love with Vittoria, a coworker and writer. Vittoria is the subject of Attilio's many dreams that center around a wedding between him and Vittoria. Attilio's strenuous courtship is unsuccessful, yet he does not lose hope, despite the fact that Vittoria obviously does not share the same feelings. She tells him that she will agree to marry him only when she sees a tiger walking on the snow. Vittoria goes to Iraq to write the biography of the poet Fuad, Attilio's close friend, who is returning to his country after 18 years living in France. In Baghdad, she is wounded as collateral damage during the invasion of Iraq. By impersonating a Red Cross surgeon, Attilio sneaks onto a flight to Baghdad in a desperate attempt to save her life. He finds Vittoria in an Iraqi hospital. Fuad directs Attilio to an old Iraqi pharmacist, who suggests ancient treatments that manage to keep her alive, temporarily. Attilio locates scuba gear to provide Vittoria with oxygen and a flyswatter, which he jokingly calls the "weapon of mass destruction" the US is looking for in Iraq. Still needing more medicinal supplies to revive Vittoria, Attilio journeys to an Italian Red Cross encampment and returns with more comprehensive supplies that will nurse Vittoria back to health.