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Actors: Anders W. Berthelson, Anette Stovelbaek, Peter Gantzler, Ann Eleonora Jorgensen, Lars Kaalund, Sara Indrio Jensen
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Italian for Beginners |
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Six characters in a Danish suburb -- a brand-new pastor, a hotel clerk, a restaurant manager, a hairdresser, a bakery employee, and a waitress -- struggle with their lives and difficulties but are brought together in a beginning Italian conversation class (though one of them is herself Italian!), and eventually make a trip to Venice together. This Danish film, made in 2000 but released in the US only in the winter of 2001-02, is another Dogme 95 release (no artificial lighting, all hand-held camera work, no special effects, etc.). It's a comedy-drama, but certainly not a screwball comedy. There are dark elements, such as alcoholism, several deaths that occur early in the film, and a spouse's suicide shortly before the story begins; the laughs are small and hard-earned at first, but sweet, and all's well that ends delightfully well. Perhaps this one will work best in video form: the combination of hand-held camera and having to read extensive subtitles gave me a bit of a headache for the first part, but the story and its characters' relationships became so engrossing that it eventually didn't matter. A nuanced charmer, with much emotional chiarosuro.
--David Loftus, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Italian for Beginners |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
Kind of comedy
- vacation or seeing foreign culture
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Culture of surrounding area:
- Italian
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- religious figure
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- blonde
Hair type
- (man) short/standard straight
Body type
- (man) average
Events of movie makes character more...
- happy
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Scandinavian
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor?
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Physique
- average physique
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Hair color
- red
Hair style
- (woman) medium/shoulderlgn wavey
How much in movie?
- 60%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Scandinavian
Main Adversary
Identity:
- general circumstances
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Setting
Europe
Yes
European country:
- Italy
- Scandinavia
Misc setting
- resort/hotel
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- moderately detailed references to deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- encouraged
Sex/nudity in movie?
Yes
What kind of sex:
- kissing
- sex under blankets
Non-American film?
Yes
What language?
- Scandinavian
Subtitles?
- Yes
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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