Italian for beginners
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Italian for beginners |
| Original title | Italiensk for begyndere |
| Country of production | Denmark |
| original language | Danish |
| Publishing year | 2000 |
| length | 108 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Lone Scherfig |
| script | Lone Scherfig |
| production | Ib Tardini |
| camera | Jørgen Johansson |
| cut | Gerd Tjur |
| occupation | |
| |
Italian for Beginners (Original title: Italiensk for begyndere ) is a Danish film from the year 2000. In addition to the Danish films Das Fest und Idioten , it is considered to be one of the most important films that follow the requirements of Dogma 95 . Directed by Lone Scherfig , who also wrote the script. The basis for the script was the novel The Irish Signora (Evening Class) by Maeve Binchy from Ireland .
action
Pastor Andreas has lost his wife and is trying to gain a foothold in a new church in a dreary suburb of Copenhagen . His predecessor has just been removed from office: with the death of his wife, he has also lost his faith in God, and he treats his successor badly. The hotel porter Jørgen Mortensen struggles with his potency. His boss gave him an order to fire his friend, the waiter Hal-Finn. Giulia, an Italian waitress, has fallen in love with Jørgen Mortenson, but he doesn't know how to explain it. Finally, he invited the Italian to the Italian course for beginners at the local adult education center. The hairdresser Karen has problems with her alcoholic and cancer-sick mother. The clumsy bakery saleswoman Olympia is bullied by her father.
There are five deaths and two funeral services, and Karen has a new sister. Little by little, all the protagonists of the Italian course for beginners arrive. There they manage to break free from their loneliness and their existential problems. In the end, they go to Venice together.
Reviews
- Kölner Stadtanzeiger from January 16, 2002: “Scherfigs researches basic human needs both in the film characters and in their wonderful actors . That is why the Dogma method works so convincingly here. Therefore the film enlivens the movement, which has already largely been written off, in a great way. "
- Filmdienst 2/2002: “The nested dramaturgy benefits less from the 'dogma' rules than from the actors' natural play and imaginative improvisations. The melodramatic comedy subtly revolves around the topics of faith, happiness and reconciliation and convinces with its quiet, fine humor, psychological density and the courage to take everyday people with their quirks seriously. "
- The Tagesspiegel of January 15, 2002: “It's about warmth in Italian for beginners , nothing more. And nothing less. A warmth that flows less into tears than into a lasting touch. "
- Die Zeit (edition 4/2002): “ Italian for beginners tells of happiness in dreary everyday life and of paradises for package travelers. A nice little film - maybe a little too pretty, and not just for a dogma film. "
- The standard of March 8, 2002: " Italian for beginners , staged and written by the first female dogma activist Lone Scherfig, combines improvised acting and realistic views of a suburb of Copenhagen into an unusually bright and extremely melodic work."
- Die Welt vom January 17th, 2002: “Director Lone Scherfig actually succeeds in elevating this leggierezza to the formal level of the film: also because her actors have developed a lot of psychological credibility through improvisation. In contrast to the Dogma predecessors, however, there is no moral sharpness here; the bitterness of life is countered with humorous sweetness. In principle, rescue is near, but only if you turn your eyes to the people around you. These are the bitterly serious moral of the film, and there is little to add. "
Awards
The film has won several awards including, inter alia on the Berlinale in 2001 with the Silver Bear Jury, the Reader's Choice Award Berliner Morgenpost , the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury and the FIPRESCI Prize . At the Valladolid International Film Festival in Spain the film was awarded a Golden Ear and Peter Gantzler was awarded Best Actor . The film received the audience award at the Warsaw International Film Festival .
The two major Danish film awards, Robert and Bodil , won Italian for Beginners also some prizes. The film won the Robert in the categories of Best Screenplay , Best Supporting Actress ( Ann Eleonora Jørgensen ) and Best Supporting Actor (Peter Gantzler). The film was also nominated in the categories of Best Leading Actor ( Anders W. Berthelsen ), Best Leading Actress ( Anette Støvelbæk ), Best Director , Best Supporting Actor ( Lars Kaalund ), Best Supporting Actress ( Lene Tiemroth ), Best Editing and Best Cinematography . Lene Tiemroth received Bodil as best supporting actress . In the categories of Best Leading Actor (Anders W. Berthelsen and Peter Gantzler), Best Leading Actress (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen and Anette Støvelbæk) and Best Film , the film was beaten by other productions.
Italian for Beginners was nominated for the 2001 European Film Prize in the Best Film category, but could not prevail against Jean-Pierre Jeunet's The Fabulous World of Amélie . Also at the Swedish Guldbagge landed Italian for Beginners behind "Amélie". At the Goya awards ceremony in 2003 , the film was nominated for Best European Film , but was defeated by Roman Polański's The Pianist .