Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella) Scene 10 Summary

  • Guido helps Dora by creating a makeshift umbrella with a cushion and the steering rod. Then creates a dry path for her to walk on using a roll of expensive red fabric Ferruccio has in the backseat. Fabric that Oreste warned Ferruccio not to ruin.
  • Guido does a little waltz for Dora—'cause when it's raining, you gotta dance.
  • After the rain stops, they walk back to the theater. Guido asks Dora how to get her to open up to him. She says he'll need the key. Guido looks up to the sky and yells to the Virgin Mary to throw down the key.
  • Wouldn't you know it? A key comes down. Dora's pretty astonished at that. (Told you it'd pay off later.)
  • Guido asks her if she'd like to go out for chocolate ice cream. Dora says maybe some other time.
  • Guido asks the Virgin Mary to send someone to tell them when they should get ice cream. Dr. Lessing walks up to them and proudly announces, "Seven seconds!" Dora is, again, astonished.
  • Fun fact: Dr. Lessing is answering Guido's riddle from earlier. It doesn't make much sense in English, but it works in Italian. Seven minuti is a play on words between "minutes" and "dwarves." The subtitles saying "seconds" appears to be a mistake (Source).
  • Back to our story: Guido and Dora are eating ice cream in front of her house mansion.
  • Guido professes his love for her. Dora jumps when she hears thunder in the distance and says he'll get wet again if he stays.
  • Guido says his suit is no big deal but the wet hat bothers him. Dora tries his trick and shouts to the heavens for him to have a dry hat.
  • Oreste comes up to Guido, grabs his hat that Guido had taken, and gives him back his own—and dry—hat and swaps out their hats.
  • That third time's gotta be a charm for Dora.