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Italian For Beginners [DVD] [2002]

DVD ~ Anders W. Berthelsen

3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

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Product details

Actors: Anders W. Berthelsen, Ann Eleonora J�rgensen, Anette St�velb�k, Peter Gantzler, Lars Kaalund
Directors: Lone Scherfig
Writers: Lone Scherfig
Producers: Gert Duve Skovlund, Ib Tardini, Karen Bentzon, Lars von Trier, Marianne Moritzen
Format: Full Screen, PAL
Language Danish, English, Italian
Subtitles: English
Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Classification: 15
Studio: Pathe Distribution
DVD Release Date: 31 Mar 2003
Run Time: 107 minutes

Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)

ASIN: B00006JY47
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 4,792 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)
Popular in this category:
#100 in DVD > Comedy > Romantic

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

The winner of a Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, Italian for Beginners is the first film made under the Dogme rules of austerity (no artificial lighting, no extraneous music, no imported props, etc) to be directed by a woman, Danish director Lone Scherfig. It's set in a small Danish town where half-a-dozen awkward misfits (the newly arrived pastor, a recently bereaved hairdresser, an ex-footballer turned abrasive bar manager, a put-upon baker's assistant and so on) are drawn together by the shared activity of an Italian-language evening-class and--yes, you guessed it--start coming out of their shells and finding love.

This is a gentle, good-natured film, full of quirky dialogue and unforced humour. Scherfig derives a good deal of amusement from watching the gloomy, buttoned-up Danes gradually relaxing and expanding under the influence of their improved linguistic skills, and reaching out for happiness. (As usual in North European cinema, Italian equals everything that's spontaneous, life-loving and sexy.) True, the pro-togetherness message is banal, and the whole film's altogether a little too pat, especially in the final neat pairing-off and the way a couple of obstructive parents helpfully contrive to die just when they need to. Still, the freshness of the largely improvised performances, and Scherfig's affectionate regard for her characters, make for a film that's hard to dislike.

On the DVD: Italian for Beginners has no extras except the theatrical trailer. The transfer faithfully reproduces the mainly hand-held, digital video quality of the original. --Philip Kemp

Special Features

1.33 Full Screen
4.3
Danish
Region 2
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround Danish
Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Theatrical Trailer
English

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Customer Reviews

24 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.9 out of 5 stars (24 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great film let down by the ending, 23 Jul 2006

By	James Aitken (London, UK) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As other reviewers have noted, this film was made according to the "Dogme" school which forbears the use of camera trickery and special effects. As a result I found that I focussed more on the acting and became more involved with the characters than one ususally does when watching a DVD. The whole experience was a bit more like going to the theatre than the cinema.

So its just as well that the acting is first class. Particularly noteworthy, for me, were Lars Kaalund who plays Halv-Finn (a troubled hot-tempered waiter with an aptitude for Italian) and Ann Joergensen, who plays Karen, (a lonely hairdresser with a sick but difficult mother).

As for the plot, I agree fully with the other reviewers who point out that towards the end it all gets a little too neat and saccharine. At this point, in my view it becomes less believeable in the light of all that has taken place before. It all starts to go down hill in this regard when the action shifts from Denmark to Venice.

But before that point the story is very well crafted and the various characters all point up different aspects of human relationships which will speak to everyone in their own way. Thus we see difficult relationships between parents and (adult) children (Karen and Olympia), work place relationships (Halv-Finn/Guilia, Halv-Finn/Joergen & Joergen/Giulia) and male friendships (Joergen/Halv-Finn). The latter, to my mind, provides one of the most poignant moments in the film, when Joergen attempts to speak to Halv-Finn about his own impotence.

Being a new Pastor in a difficult semi-rural parish is probably a situation which will resonate less with most people. Nonetheless, it is this character that provides some of the most amusing and touching scenes in the film, especially his interactions with the female parish assistant.

Anyone who speaks Danish will notice some rather infelicitous translations in the sub-titles but overall I don't think those really matter. Its an enjoyable film with some wonderful acting that is rather badly let down at the end by the plot. But worth seeing nonetheless.

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars bitter-sweet, funny and real, 7 Jul 2004

By	Mr. Ian A. Macfarlane "almac1975" (Fife, Scotland) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

This is one of my favourite films of recent years. The characters are all sympathetic and all vulnerable, astray, lost.
They come together in the evening-class Italian lessons, which provide escape and, in a limited way, friendship. It all moves towards a gently joyous ending, but there are hard moments on the way. In places it is very funny, but its dominant characteristic is tenderness of an absolutely unsentimental kind. The dogme approach allows a matter-of-fact understatement which adds to the film's power, and the result is totally compelling.

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14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Italian's a winner, 8 Oct 2002

By A Customer

Italian for Beginners is the most recent film in the danish Dogma series. While it retains the seasick camera work, bleak atmosphere and dark, somtimes even morbid sense of humour so typical for the Dogma films, this one is, in its core, full of warmth and humanity. The characters are sensitively and lovingly portrayed, highlighting the dignity of seemingly downbeaten no-hopers. In the blossoming romances there is none of the dull inevitability, so often found in other romance films, but the developing relationships are so closely portrayed that we entirely understand the characters' actions and feelings, unpredictable though they may be at times. Even the smaller characters are superbly acted and come across vividly. Somehow there seem to be no extras in this film. Whoever the camera focuses on, is close, even familiar to the viewer. Despite the apparent focus on romance, the film also deals with difficult parent-child relationships, with friendship, disability, sickness and death. All of these issues are, in keeping with the Dogma tradition, dealt with in an unglossy, stark and very honest manner. Nevertheless, warmth and dignity emerges from even the darkest scenes and one is left with a sense that though life may be cruel at times, it cannot defeat the love people feel for each other. It is certainly an unconventional romance film, but the best I have ever seen.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars A special memory
I have fond memories of first watching Italian for beginners five years ago. This film remains one of my favourites and always makes me feel connected when I feel lost. Read more

Published on 26 Oct 2007 by Pineapple

3.0 out of 5 stars Depressing but insightful
Quirky this film certainly is, and it's also a rigorous example of the Dogme genre - but feelgood it isn't. Read more

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2.0 out of 5 stars Flat
I found the characters in this so stereotypical. There's the person with the anger management problem; the one with the mother with mental health problems, the ex drug-addict,... Read more

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3.0 out of 5 stars Chick Lit
Despite the fact that this film is based on the book, Italian for Beginners, by the god-mother of chick-lit: Maeve Binchy, and has decidedly twee overtones, it is an enjoyable... Read more

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5.0 out of 5 stars Danish Dogme
The first of the Dogme films. It stars very Danish humor, which I am not certain viewers outside of Denmark will understand. Read more

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4.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful, simple film
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