Italian for Beginners

The thing I appreciated about this flick were the actors. Here I saw real people acting the way folks like you and me act in similar situations. None of the silly fresh faced cuteness that one sees on local programming of the 'Friends' genre. Here were people we could all relate with, people we know and have interacted with. After watching the various romances unfold I left the theater with the good feeling of, 'yep, that's the way it really happens.'

What a pleasure "Italian for Beginners" is. Each character is appealing as well as complex and recognizable. A new pastor, bereft after his wife's death, interacts with an assortment of people who by accident or stumbling and fumbling intent come together in overlapping relationships. Romance is in the air, deaths dislocate several of the characters' lives, comedic movements help all to cope with the vagaries of life.

Taking place mostly in Denmark (with a restaurant manager whose style convinces me that he must have done an internship in a New York City eatery), the story revolves around the central goal of learning Italian. Only one of the main characters is from Italy, a beautiful waitress with the clearest agenda of anyone in the film. After wrestling through a non-Berlitz approach to the language all head for Venice where hearts meet and fun reigns.

Dogma 95 certificate or not, this is a convincing, endearing, excellent film. By intent or otherwise, many scenes are shot with a slight jerkiness that adds to a viewer's sense of inclusion.

Unfortunately this film won't screen in many theatres and rentals and sales will be the path to a wider audience. And this film merits a very big following.

I had the pleasure of seeing Italiensk for begyndere in a pretty small, intimiate cinema, which set the audience up beautifully for this movie.

The characters really drive this story, rather than the film pushing the characters around. What results is a movie that takes its own time to say what it needs to say, and that allows us to gain insight on what really is a broad spectrum of very human, very diverse personalities.

Romantic comedies-dramas, by and large, are pretty hit-and-miss, though more miss than hit if they come from Hollywood. They're bogged down in clichés, saccarine melodrama and characters that don't at all behave like real people. Italiensk for begyndere avoids all that, giving us characters that could just as well be the person sitting three seats from you in the cinema, that's how human they are.

I didn't feel at all cheated with this film, and left the cinema feeling like I saw a film that speaks to people. Superb.

This is a very intimate and enjoyable film. It shows every day characters in their own surroundings interacting in a manner that is very naturalistic and true. Director Lone Scherfig has directed with a sure hand and the situation is believable.

The ensemble cast plays well, as it is with the majority of the Dogme95 films. At times, they make us forget that we are watching a film, as it struck me, that I was just intruding in the life of a bunch of people in that town in Denmark.

What is amazing is that the film doesn't become an Italian travelogue as it would have been the case had this story been done by a non-Scandinavian director with pressures from studio heads. It has the right amount ingredients and it makes a delicious minestrone for all to enjoy.

Bravi a tutti!

I have to admit, after the first few minutes I was wondering if I'd even manage to finish the whole thing. Also, as this was the first Dogme film I'd seen, I was also really questioning the whole concept. The opening scenes seemed amateurish in both filming and acting, with jerky editing and camera movements, and seemingly one-dimensional characters. But it really grew on me as I kept watching. The more the characters revealed themselves, the more sympathetic and complex they became. It actually became quite engrossing as the film progressed. There were just so many moments of geniune warmth and humor. In fact, what really struck me about this film after it was all over was its geniuneness. I haven't seen anything so heartwarming in a long time. 8/10.