Italiensk for begyndere

"Attendance optional. Passion required."

May 10 2002 R 1h 52m
Comedy, Drama, Romance

Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.

Plot

A young minister, a widower, is temporarily assigned to a church whose suspended pastor drove parishioners away; he stays at a hotel where he meets Jørgen, who's alone approaching middle age. Jørgen's friend Finn, a temperamental restaurant manager, may be about to be fired. Finn's assistant is Giulia, a lovely young Italian who prays for a husband. Olympia, a clumsy bakery clerk, has an ornery father; Karen, a hairdresser, has a mother who is very ill. The paths of these six characters cross at church, in the restaurant, at the hotel, and at an Italian class at the local adult school. Loneliness, grief, solace, romance, and love may meet 'nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita.'

Written by

Maeve Binchy, Lone Scherfig

Directed by

Lone Scherfig

Production Countries

Sweden, Denmark

Production Companies

Zentropa Entertainments

Languages

Italiano, Dansk

Awards

21 wins & 22 nominations

Scores
# of Votes
14,146
Average Rating
7 out of 10
Metascore
77
Popularity
NA