Italian for Beginners

R

Released Jan 18, 2002

1h 52m

Romance

Comedy

List

87%

87 Reviews

Tomatometer

79%

5,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

"Italian for Beginners" follows the stories of six insecure singles whose lives interweave one dreary Copenhagen winter. Soon after arriving in a small grey suburb, Andreas (Anders W. Berthelsen), a young sensitive minister, is persuaded to sign up for Italian lessons. Upon his arrival, each of the lonely characters makes a major decision that will change the course of their life. They find love and a happy solution to their unhappy situations.

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Critics Consensus

Unlike many romantic comedies, the charming Italian for Beginners feels natural and genuinely heart-warming.

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Audience Member

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.

Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This is the film about loneliness in the village in Denmark

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/14/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/26/23

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

Frances H

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.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

04/16/13

Full Review

Audience Member

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.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/07/23

Full Review

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Lone Scherfig

Director

Anders W. Berthelsen

Andreas

Anette Støvelbæk

Olympia

Peter Gantzler

Jørgen Mortensen

Lars Kaalund

Hal-Finn

Sara Indrio Jensen

Giulia

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David Ansen

Newsweek

Without abandoning the illusion of realism, Scherfig and her wonderful cast slyly transmute the quotidian into the magical. It's like watching flowers bloom in a concrete garden.

Mar 7, 2018

Full Review

Richard Porton

Chicago Reader

Scherfig manages to elicit excellent performances from a talented cast.

Sep 29, 2017

Full Review

Nell Minow

Common Sense Media

Romantic, often comic but certainly for grownups.

Rated: 4/5

Dec 24, 2010

Full Review

Kaleem Aftab

The List

There's much enjoyment to be had in the quirkiness and imperfection of the characters as they struggle to overcome personal misfortune.

Rated: 3/5

Apr 17, 2019

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: B

Mar 22, 2013

Full Review

John A. Nesbit

Old School Reviews

a lightweight story about matchmaking, the characters make it worth the journey.

Rated: B

Jun 24, 2011

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

"Italian for Beginners" follows the stories of six insecure singles whose lives interweave one dreary Copenhagen winter. Soon after arriving in a small grey suburb, Andreas (Anders W. Berthelsen), a young sensitive minister, is persuaded to sign up for Italian lessons. Upon his arrival, each of the lonely characters makes a major decision that will change the course of their life. They find love and a happy solution to their unhappy situations.

Director: Lone Scherfig
Screenwriter: Lone Scherfig
Distributor: Miramax Films
Production Co: Zentropa Entertainments
Rating: R (Some Sexuality|Language)
Genre: Romance, Comedy
Original Language: Danish
Release Date (Theaters): Jan 18, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 8, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.4M
Runtime: 1h 52m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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