When "Life is Beautiful" was released in the United States in 1998, I wasn't as wild about the movie as many others were. I appreciated the tone of director/co-writer/star Roberto Benigni's film about a father shielding his young son from the horrors of a concentration camp, the premise seemed a trifle strained and sanitized.

At the risk of sounding dramatic, I've thought about the movie a lot in recent weeks, as parents -- understandably nervous and concerned -- have been forced into close quarters with their children by the practice of social distancing.