Cleveronix A different way of telling a story

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

dfwforeignbuff Italian for Beginners-2000 Italiensk for Begyndere. A film from Denmark. An unforgettable romantic comedy that's earned overwhelming acclaim, Italian FOR BEGINNERS is a warm & playful story about seven perfect strangers & the shared journey of discovery that changes each of their lives! In a small, rainy suburb, a mismatched collection of opposites have signed up for an Italian class in hopes of spicing up their lives! Then, as they realize the class offers them more than just language lessons, they join together on a quest to Italy with the renewed desire to pursue the romances of their lives! Once there, these world-weary students who thought there was nothing left to learn from life will get an education that will change everything they know about love! Hal-Finn (Lars Kaalund) who is in love with an Italian woman but is afraid to tell her, Olympia (Anette Stovelaek) who uses the class as excuse to get away from her demanding mother, & Carmen (Ann Eleonora Jorgensen) who has a similar problem with her alcoholic mom. Not your usual lighthearted romance, Lone Sherfig's heartwarming comedy warms the usually chilly Dogme 95 world of prickly eccentrics & damaged souls with a glowing sense of hope & passion. A belligerent restaurant manager, a repressed hotelier, a lonely hairdresser, & a clumsy, childlike bakery clerk are among the lonely thirty something's who escape the social disasters & comic chaos of their unfulfilled lives in an Italian-language evening course. It becomes a place to dream & to heal emotional wounds (& they have more than their fair share of scars). Sherfig manages to turn the familiar social landscape of films as The Celebration & The King Is Alive--fractured families, abusive parents, tragic pasts-into a backdrop for romantic comedy. If not exactly profound, Italian for Beginners remains a sweet, hopeful, & affirming tale of eccentrics who find friendship, family, & romance while learning the language of love. I liked this movie a lot! I don't know why the National TV Broadcase companies and Movie Productions companies don't try using to Dogme idea to make one hour real drama mini movies. ( even full length 2 hours movies) this film is a success. 5 stars

Martin Bradley Watching this superlative film from Denmark I kept thinking just how awful the American remake would be, (unless, of course, it was directed by someone like Thomas McCarthy or Tamara Jenkins). It's about a handful of lonely people in what, presumably, is a small community and whose lives intersect on a daily basis but who come to know each other more much intimately through the Italian class they attend every week. They are also linked by love and death; the death of parents and loved ones and the love which they find with each other. It's very funny and it's genuinely charming. If a major Hollywood studio were to do this I doubt if it would be either. But it is also honest and fairly uncompromising and it treats all the characters on screen with affection and with respect, something Hollywood seldom does.It's also superbly acted. This is a brilliant ensemble and there isn't a dud performance in sight; impossible, then, to single out one performance but these people live on long after the movie ends. It is also so well directed by Lone Scherfig that you simply forget there's someone behind the camera telling the actors what to do. Perhaps that's the real achievement of Dogme 95; you forget you're watching a movie and feel instead like you're visiting old friends.

L. Denis Brown In the 1990's a group of Danish film makers developed protocols for a new style of filming which was intended to give a more natural looking product than most large studio productions. These films are now listed as following the Dogme 95 franchise. It encourages filming exclusively on location with hand held cameras. If a studio is used, the lighting must be simple and natural. The most distinctive feature is however that all background music not required by the story is excluded, this can provide a very refreshing change after watching films where the mood has to be established through the soundtrack before every sequence. Italian for Beginners is one of the later Dogme productions and is a classic "feel good" film which most viewers may not remember as memorable, but the vast majority will regard as enjoyable viewing. I recommend it strongly to anyone not familiar with any of the Dogme films, both as a film and as a good introduction to this franchise.The story is of a group of rather drab and depressed individuals who decide to learn a little Italian to enable them to better follow the program of the Venice film festival. Gradually the challenge of undertaking a difficult task together brings colour into their lives and they become both more interesting people and more interested in each other. (The most serious criticism of this film is that, in order to highlight the extent of the change they experience, they appear so uninteresting in the early sequences it is initially very hard for a viewer to become involved in the story which is being unfolded.) Ultimately romances bloom, other important changes in their lives can be seen developing; and the film conveys the clear message that everybody has to contribute something before they can get anything back.Forget the Dogme protocols - they are useful to know but not very relevant. Personally I love the simplicity of the sound track in a Dogme movie, but I hate an over-shaky camera; neither are critical aspects of this film. Essentially, this is a film about ordinary people - not one with a gripping story or overwhelming spectacle; but one which nevertheless has won many awards. If they last out the early sequences, most viewers find it very rewarding to watch. My IMDb rating is 7 stars.

prenumerera Usually i can't stand romance movies, they always tend to exaggerate everything about love and relationships in a way that i just plain stupid. But this movie manages to keep a nice pace and great cinematography. The movie built up my expectations for every minute and manages to fulfill them, and this is just incredible.This is the best danish film i have seen since Festen (The Celebration), i have seen a lot of danish movies but "Festen" and "Italiensk for begyndere" stand out in a remarkable way.If you liked this movie a would like to recommend movies from from Swedish director Lukas Moodysson, movies like "Fucking Åmal" and "Tillsammans" for example.