Pretty Good

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

A lovely, feelgood film that manages to avoid being twee through several flashes of that dry, dark, Danish sense of humour; as well as a willingness to look at life's realities square on, without overt sentimentality, but with a tentative optimism.For those familiar with Dogme '95 this is proof that it doesn't always have to be vaguely disturbing or downright shocking truths that the medium wrings out of its characters and situations - life isn't always that bleak. For those not familiar with Dogme, this film presents a warm and inviting pool in which one may dip one's toe comfortably.The six lead characters are three-dimensional and likable, including Lars Kaalund's Ramseyan restaurateur Halvfinn. The support is a little more exaggeratedly drawn, but still sympathetic for the most part. The plot is uncomplicated (no prizes for guessing the minor twists) but none the worse for that - part of the Dogme vow of chastity is to avoid the horrendously contrived plot twists favoured by Hollywood today over proper character development or story (you know the usual suspects).One to watch with (teenage) offspring, parents, partners, business partners, potential clients, complete strangers... in fact, just about anyone who's around.

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.

Director Lone Scherfig has proved that she's able to direct a movie based on the Dogme '95 concept first originated by Lars Von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg in 1995. It's a simple story told through the eyes of 6 lonely persons in a small town on the rural coast of Jutland. What binds them together is the common interest for the Italian language they all participate during an evening course.One might think that it's a common love story, but the character building clearly proves that it's not uncommon for all age groups to have all kinds of personally burdens such as the reverend Wredmann who has lost his belief in God as he has lost his wife to God. Another such character would be Olympia who has almost given up all hope of ever being able to function as human being because of fetus damages.The primary reason for watching a picture like this one the developing of characters and how they bond together even though personalities of Karen and Hal-Finn are quite disturbing with Hal-Finn being a really imbecile. This is the only place where "Italiensk for begyndere" starts to lack some ingenuity but in the end it's only minor complain. In the end if you're into foreign pictures and especially endearing dramas then go and see "Italiensk for begyndere" if you got some time to spare.7/10

Life in a dull Danish provincial town is only partly enlivened by an Italian night class.This is one of these newfangled movies ("Dogma" for those in the know) where the whole thing is captured on video camera, lighting is natural-and-available and all music has to come from a visible source on screen.Here we have camera work so wobbly that it looks like the cameraman has been taken by surprise by some of the action - either that for the director (Lone Sherfig) doesn't know the Danish phrases for "cut" or "let's go again - the cameraman wasn't ready!"We are in a Mike Leigh world of small people with flaws trying to make a life in difficult circumstances. There seems a lot of deaths, but in this grey world you can almost call them mercy killings!Finn is the marginal lead character (just ahead of the young new pastor) as he is both the coffee shop manager - for a while at least - and the stand-in Italian teacher after the original teacher has a heart attack in class. Given that he is fluent in Italian already you wonder why he needs to attend in the first place, but maybe it is the social scene that interest him?While you may knock the grade Z production values it tells a lot of truths. The main one is that life is nothing but a string of embarrassing moments played off against small moments of pleasure or diversion.