Un italiano en Noruega

We have certain ... well prejudices about different nationalities. Sometimes even the people of a land can see certain things that can be attributed to a lot of people. Take Italians for example ... they have a charm about them, but they also can be quite hot headed. Now obviously that is not true of every single one of them.

But the movie makes fun of these preconceptions we and they themselves have. Like waiting in a line patiently. Again if you dissect the movie and you feel this is offensive, you will not hav fun watching this at all. Which would be a shame because through all the things that are said and shown (the love of the mother is another major thing, gender roles in general), this takes them and makes fun of them.

And all that with some heart added to it. The ending may be a bit too much (and also quite the radical change from one second to the other as it seems), but it still works if you let it.

I was zapping TV when I caught this movie starting in a secondary channel and I ended up watching 'till the end. I didn't recognize the actors but I know that European comedies can be quite the surprise and so was this one. Image quality is good with beautiful sceneries, there are the comical songs but above all, being an European myself, I totally got it. It's not full of stereotypes, it's more like reality slightly exaggerated for comical purposes. Or like we say here: "One has to laugh, so not to cry."

The negative reviewers are taking this a whole lot too seriously. I watched this on the plane a few days ago and it made me laugh out loud - not easy in those circumstances. It's not subtle, nor full of elegant wit, but it is funny. It's not exactly Fellini (who, strangely, made a similar film with Marcello Mastroianni, if I remember correctly). Anyone who's spent time in these countries, and I have, knows there's a grain of truth in these stereotypes. Italians are impatient drivers, Norwegians do like to bathe naked in the snow. Etc. As for the Mafia...that no longer exists, so we are told. Except that trials of so called gangsters have been going on for years now, but witnesses keep disappearing (check the news on google). So that particular stereotype might just be accurate. I have an Italian friend who took me to visit his relatives near Naples. One of the relatives was a civil engineer who had built a road that bypassed a particular village. That road was used exclusively for his friends and relatives for some years before it became a public highway. That is true from my own experience, so all the reviewers on here who say the stereotypes are just that...well, no. Anyway, if you are too earnest to enjoy this film, stick to something more philosophically challenging.

An Italian film that shows the stereotypes around Italy (and so many parts of the world) and puts them into contrast with the Norway's culture. A simple and fresh comedy that's going to make you laugh out loud. It has some inconsistencies but at the end of the day It let us a good lesson. If you want to relax, watch this movie.

I laughed out loud, most of the film, and I'm not sure why. It felt almost like a dirty pleasure. The movie portrays and even celebrates several aspects of Latin/Mediterranean cultures (which are to a great extent inherited by most Latin American countries). I felt it represented my people and it resonated with me.

It does a great job caricaturing the profile of the natural born public worker, who aspires nothing more than a post in public office and the security that comes with it.

It uses Nordic cultures to contrast traditional Italian values, and how the world is changing, and what is politically correct, versus what older generations expected.

All in all I found it a refreshing break from Hollywood based humor and mindset, the whole you gotta be a winner thing, you gotta be a passionate worker vs the more plain joy de vivre that celebrates life, and does not need work to justify its existence.