Cast: Anders W. Berthelsen, Ann Eleonora Jørgensen, Anette Støvelbæk, Peter Gantzler, Lars Kaalund, Sara Indrio Jensen
Director: Lone Scherfig
Producers: Ib Tardini
Screenplay: Lone Scherfig
Cinematography: Jørgen Johansson
U.S. Distributor: Miramax Films
In Danish & Italian with subtitles
"Dogma 95", the ascetic filmmaking code advanced by Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier, Thomas Vinterberg, and others, has turned into a gimmick. It may not have been one at the beginning, but that's what it is today. There have been some good films released under the "Dogma" umbrella - Vinterberg's The Celebration comes to mind - but it's getting to the point now where bare-bones films are being released that would have benefited from a little "tweaking". A case in point is Italian for Beginners (Dogma #12), an engaging romantic comedy that would have been better if the audience wasn't constantly being distracted by mediocre video quality and jerky camera movements. Both of these are artifacts of the Dogma approach, and, in this case, both damage the viewing experience.
Based on the title, one might mistakenly assume that Italian for Beginners is a saucy Italian romp; in point of fact, it comes from Denmark. It is a comedy, and there is romance involved, but the film also has a bit of an edge. There are several truly loathsome characters - an aging mother and father and a deposed pastor, to name a few - which keep the movie from turning light and frothy. And the film earns its R-rating simply because characters occasionally use profanity, not because of a litany of four-letter words or the presence of explicit sex and/or violence.
Italian for Beginners is three romances bundled into one. The connecting thread is that all of the principals live in the same Danish town and, at one time or another, they all attend the same adult education night class: Italian for Beginners. Andreas (Anders W. Berthelsen) is the new pastor, and is desperately uncertain of himself. He becomes interested in shy, clumsy Olympia (Anette Støvelbæk), who works at a baker's shop and lives with a despot of a father. Because the former pastor has not yet vacated the living quarters, Andreas is forced to stay at a hotel. The desk manager there, Jorgen Mortensen (Peter Gantzler), befriends the minister. Jorgen, who hasn't had sex in four years, is beginning to despair that he'll ever find a woman who excites him, although there is an attraction between him and Giulia (Sara Indrio Jensen), a waitress at a local restaurant. The restaurant is managed by the sharp-tongued Halvfinn (Lars Kaalund), who also happens to be Jorgen's best friend. He is drawn to Karen (Ann Eleonora Jørgensen), who runs a hair-cutting salon. These characters engage in an elaborate courtship dance until, during a vacation they take together in Venice, each relationship is clarified - one way or another.
With Italian for Beginners, Lone Scherfig becomes the first woman to direct a Dogma film (I suppose that's a distinction of sorts). She has the benefit of a well-written script (which she penned) that throws a few surprises the viewer's way and doesn't tie up all the loose ends to the degree that a Hollywood production might. She also has an expert cast portraying characters that are not lifted off of a stereotype shelf. There's more to these people than single sentences can reveal. Andreas, for example, is still grieving for his beloved wife, who killed herself six months earlier after a mental affliction became too painful. She, Andreas confides, had more faith than he has. Olympia's clumsiness is revealed to have a legitimate cause. And Karen is forced to cope with the decision of euthanizing her pain-stricken mother. There is far more going on than one might expect to see in a traditional romantic comedy, and Italian for Beginners is all the more rich for it. Despite the drawbacks of the Dogma approach, Italian for Beginners speaks to the universal subject of love in a way that will delight most viewers.
© 2002 James Berardinelli