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The cover of the video disc made me think that this was going to be a lush, sexy tale of romance. Instead, it was a poorly-filmed, poorly-written, poorly-acted soap opera about a bunch of people in a Danish town who meet as a result of a little-attended Italian language class. This premise might have still worked if it were done right, but it looks like a home movie, and it seems the people who praise it are the ones who think any film that doesn't come from Hollywood is a great classic. It's not a classic, not even in a "so-bad-it's-good" sense. The plot is about a recently-widowed pastor hired for the town church to fill in for the regular one who has been suspended, and other major characters include a hairdresser with a dying mother, a bakery employee who keeps dropping things and who has an obnoxious dying father, an obnoxious and self-absorbed young restaurant manager, an Italian waitress who wants a husband, and other similarly clichéd characters who are neither developed nor likable. The story jumps from one scene to another, featuring a few mild laughs but no actual good parts. After two-thirds of the way I just gave up, deciding there would be no payoff. You cannot always judge a DVD by its cover, or by the fact that it is called a "classic". Beware of that term; you might be disappointed.

This is the film about loneliness in the village in Denmark

This movie proves 2 things. 1 One can make a great movie for under 5 million bucks. 2 Danish movies don't suck. The acting was exceptional. The characters were believable and all touched you in their own way. Something that's very hard to do. The story, although lacked continuity at times - worked. It ran the perfect emotional gambit. It will make you chuckle and get teary eyed. Its a great romantic first date movie for those that enjoy a good foreign language film. Brava.

Nothing really holds the movie together with enough substance, just mostly plays as separated characters with different stories that don't ever really feel connected (even with the Italian class). The Dogma 95 style of jerky handheld cameras was the wrong approch for this movie, it's pretty distracting throughout, and doesn't work with the romantic comedy aspirations of the movie.

Although a bit slow and hum-drum at first, this sweet little film grew on me. The immediacy of the video-taped quality made it remind me of an episode of Britain's Coronation Street. An enjoyable view.

At the edge of their lonely life, they finally encounter their true pairs. This is the most pure love story that I've never seen before. Whenever I watch this film, I cannot help falling in love with this film and all characters.

The seventh Dogma. My first Denmark.

Also this Danish movie was full of love. ???????????DVD?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

supposed to be a romantic comendy. however, it turned out to be sad and depressing dannish alternative movie. worth watching though, if in mood...

Einer der besten dänischen Dogma 95 Filme

Lars Von Trier inició en 1995 un movimiento cinematográfico llamado Dogma. La historia se encargaría de llamarle Dogma 95. Este fue un intento por basar las películas solamente en historias y personajes, más allá de efectos especiales o adornos innecesarios (desde el punto de vista de esta corriente) para el servicio de la historia y el desarrollo de los personajes. Se realizó incluso un decálogo, donde se estipulaban las reglas de esta escuela como por ejemplo: Que no fueran películas de género (comedias, misterio, suspenso etc.), que la iluminación fuera natural y no manipulada por nada ni por nadie, que no tuvieran música y cosas por el estilo. Dogma 95 sin duda ha sido uno de los movimientos cinematográficos más relevantes de los últimos años. Esta película danesa "Italiano para Principiantes" pertene precisamente a ese selecto grupo de cintas. Cuenta la historia de algunos personajes que convergen en un curso de Italiano. "Italiano para Principiantes", podría ser considerada, la única película romántica de la corriente Dogma 95. Una buena cinta con una bonita historia.

A dogma film which you have to watch with that in mind...so don't put it on thinking is a romantic comedy...anyway besides the style which is very indi and courageous but yet difficult to adjust to, the movie has a cast which drives the plot into a very interesting way, between coincidence and interconnection allowing a story that arcs from tragedy to happiness... If you are not into this genre it is very hard to watch (there's basically no score throughout the film) but given the spontenaty of the cast , it is really worth it to take a look

Very sweet. I am going to look up an Italian course

Aivan ihastuttava tragikomedia Tanskasta. Se sijoittuu pikkukaupunkiin, jossa yhdeksän eri ihmistä löytävät toisensa traagisten tapahtumien ja yhteisen harrastuksen, italian kurssin kautta. Jokainen henkilö on omalta osaltaan kokenut jonkinlaisen menetyksen ja he saavat tukea toisiltaan. Hersyvä huumori dramaattisten tapahtumien lomassa jättää hyvän mielen. Paras näkemäni tanskalainen elokuva ikinä! Suosittelen! Eurooppalaisen elokuvan helmiä!

Film con poche pretese, forse per questo piacevole. In fondo, come anche il film mette in risalto, basta poco per rendere migliore una giornata.

Cinta que dio paso a la segunda ola del Dogma 95, esta confirmo o dio validez al movimiento. Exitosa en la taquilla y con la critica. Esta "comedia" se respalda en los personajes en los cuales se enfoca y se beneficia de un estupendo casting. Una pequeña cinta que agrada por tener los pies en el suelo y nunca pretender ser otra cosa.

A lovely film about love and life.

An interesting and at times amusing film. Typically European with only a little influence from Hollywood. I did enjoy more the second time.

Dogme 95. Can you dig it? For the uninitiated, Dogme 95 is a Danish film movement that spanned 1995-2005, founded by Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg, dropping much of the usual technology and artifice of the film experience for something entirely focused on the story, acting, and theme - taking indie filmmaking to the very roots of film's creation. Most viewers are so accustomed to the layers of artifice and perspective-skewing lenses that we veil our films with that Dogme 95 films may seem initially unpalatable, but if you can get past your preconceptions, there's substance to be enjoyed. I'm not quite a stranger to Danish film myself, having watched Allegro, The Boss of It All, Dancer in the Dark, and Dear Wendy in the past - three of them Trier films, and one of them a collaboration with Vinterberg that was far from Dogme 95. (Dear Wendy) All of the aforementioned were enjoyable in their own ways, but despite having learned about the Dogme 95 movement in a European film course I took in college, only now was Italian for Beginners my first personal exposure to Dogme 95. The acting is strong across the board, highlighting one of the greatest strengths of Dogme 95: its documentary-like feel. The characters disappear into the actors, and you feel as though you're watching the stories of real people unfold on screen, creating a level of immersion that otherwise typically self-aware filmmaking is less capable of. Of course, prior to Italian for Beginners, I wasn't familiar with any of the cast - that likely also contributes to the impressive melding of character and actor in my eyes. The camera work itself is all competently done - it never feels like an awkward home movie, and it's not as spontaneous as a documentary. There's clearly direction, but it doesn't interfere with the authentic feel of the story presented. That said, as there's nothing grand in what Dogme 95 seeks to capture and express, there's nothing grand in Italian for Beginners' cinematography - just well-shot images and scenes of characters as believable human beings living their lives in Denmark, and a trip to Italy late in the film. The script, in many ways, is what holds it back. There's a few too many happy coincidences and connections and a few too many relative deaths that the characters go through at every turn to completely hold onto the realism Dogme 95 seeks. These aspects of the script would likely have worked better in a more traditional modern film where you're more aware of the artifice of the world you're gazing into, but at the same time, that would come at the expense of the Dogme 95 strengths Italian for Beginners possesses. In its summation, Italian for Beginners is a good film, and a worthy introduction to Dogme 95 - a test of sorts to see whether or not you could get into and enjoy the films of the movement. But I'd also bank on Dogme 95 movies being essentially unpalatable to the average American filmgoer, and that's likely the case for most filmgoers across the globe. This is pure art house cinema at its very heart - the product of a movement with vision, seeking to capture and highlight certain things at the expense of the elements of modern and postmodern filmmaking that we so often take for granted. As such, while I can personally recommend Italian for Beginners as a good film, that recommendation comes with the caveat that most people will probably struggle with it - that's the nature of Dogme 95 filmmaking. It's hard to call it necessarily "entertaining" or "fun," but it's authentic, honest, and heartfelt in ways the cinema we're used to can't quite reach.