Italian for Beginners (2000) Italiensk for begyndere (original title)

Writer:

Lone Scherfig

Release Date:

8 December 2000 (Denmark)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Asistencia Opcional. Pasión Requerida. (Attendance Optional. Passion Required)

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Italian | Church | Hotel | Restaurant | Hairdresser

Awards:

20 wins & 22 nominations

Cast

Anders W. Berthelsen	...	Andreas
Anette Støvelbæk	...	Olympia
Ann Eleonora Jørgensen	...	Karen
Peter Gantzler	...	Jørgen Mortensen
Lars Kaalund	...	Hal-Finn
Sara Indrio Jensen	...	Giulia
Karen-Lise Mynster	...	Kirsten, the real estate dealer
Rikke Wölck	...	Lise, the nurse
Elsebeth Steentoft	...	Kirketjener
Bent Mejding	...	Reverend Wredmann
Lene Tiemroth	...	Karen's Mother
Claus Gerving	...	Klaus Graversen
Jesper Christensen	...	Olympia's Father
Merete Voldstedlund	...	Andreas' mother (scenes deleted)
Henning Jensen	...	Leif (scenes deleted)
Carlo Barsotti	...	Carlo
Alex Nyborg Madsen	...	Sportsman / Church Singer 1
Steen Svare	...	Sportsman / Church Singer 2 (as Steen Svare Hansen)
Susanne Oldenburg	...	Lady
Martin Brygmann	...	Night School Teacher
Alexander Noval
Matteo Valese	...	Marcello, the Italian teacher
Armando Battiston
Silvio Zanon
Radu Zaplini

Directed by
Lone Scherfig		(uncredited)

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Lone Scherfig

Produced by
Karen Bentzon	....	line producer
Gert Duve Skovlund	....	executive producer: Det Danske Filminstitut
Peter Aalbæk Jensen	....	executive producer
Marianne Moritzen	....	executive producer: Danmarks Radio
Ib Tardini	....	producer
Vinca Wiedemann	....	executive producer: Det Danske Filminstitut
Lars von Trier	....	associate producer (uncredited)

Cinematography by
Jørgen Johansson

Film Editing by
Gerd Tjur

Production Management
William Knuttel	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Niels Reiermann	....	assistant director

Art Department
Jette Lehmann	....	production design consultant

Sound Department
Graham Edmondson	....	dolby consultant
Mikkel Groos	....	boom operator
Kasper Munck-Hansen	....	sound assistant
Rune Palving	....	sound editor
Dan Edelstein	....	supervising sound editor: US release (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Thomas Holm Deleurang	....	focus puller (as Thomas Holm Christensen)
Lars Høgsted	....	still photographer
Michael Tøt	....	second assistant camera

Casting Department
Nicola Minghetti	....	extras casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Malin Birch-Jensen	....	costume consultant

Editorial Department
Anne Katrine Andersen	....	post-production coordinator
Helle Tang	....	post-production assistant

Other crew
Troels Asmussen	....	assistant to producer
Enrico Ballarin	....	location manager
Helle Bønnelykke	....	location assistant
Marco Cadò	....	production assistant
Sarita Christensen	....	production assistant
Silvia Donati	....	production assistant
Anders Gadegaard	....	consultant
William Knuttel	....	location manager
Ingrid Kofoed	....	production coordinator
Ann Køj	....	production accountant
Charlotte Lange	....	script supervisor (as Charlotte Lange Poulsen)
Niels Reiermann	....	consultant
Jasper Veissman	....	consultant
Ann Vognsen	....	production accountant
Marco Zanon	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• Danmarks Radio (DR)
• Det Danske Filminstitut
• Zentropa Entertainments

Distributors

• Alfa Films (2002) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Kamras Film Group (2001) (Finland) (theatrical)
• Kinowelt Filmverleih (2002) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Upstream Pictures (2001) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Zazie Films (Japan) (theatrical)
• Bir Film (Turkey)
• Buena Vista Home Entertainment (BVHE) (2002) (USA) (DVD)
• CinemArt (Czech Republic)
• Film Tonic (Québec)
• Filmfreak Distributie (200?) (Netherlands) (video)
• Future Film (2003) (Finland) (DVD) (VHS)
• Golem Distribución (Spain)
• Homescreen (2003) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (Brazil) (DVD)
• Imagem Filmes (Brazil) (VHS)
• Istituto Luce
• Les Films du Losange
• Miramax Films (2002) (USA) (subtitled)
• Sandrew Metronome Distribution
• Scandinavian Entertainment Group (Norway)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2002) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Transeuropa Video Entertainment (TVE) (2002) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Yleisradio (YLE) (2003) (2005) (2006) (Finland) (TV)

Other Companies

• Hokus Bogus Rekorder ApS  post-production facilities
• Johan Ankerstjerne A/S  post-production
• Mainstream ApS  post-production
• Zoetropa Music Group  post-production

Also Known As:

"Italiensk for begyndere" - Denmark (original title)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some sexuality

Runtime:

112 min | Germany:118 min (Berlin Film Festival) | Italy:118 min | USA:118 min (Telluride Film Festival) | USA:97 min (DVD version)

Country:

Denmark | Sweden

Language:

Danish | Italian | English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Iceland:L | Ireland:15 (IFCO) | Hungary:14 | Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Denmark:7 | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:AL | Norway:7 | Peru:14 | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Avedøre, Sjælland, Denmark

Company:

Danmarks Radio (DR)

Trivia:

The film complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95, including use of hand-held cameras and natural lighting.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: At the Christmas service, the congregation use the hymn book to sing "Barn Jesus i en krybbe lå". However, this song was not included in the hymn book of 1953 (which would be the one used in the movie) as it was not considered a "proper" hymn until 2003, when it was included in the newest version of the hymn book.

Quotes:

Olympia's Father:That sounds disgusting.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Holiday (2006)

Soundtrack:

Barn Jesus i en krybbe la

Thoroughly enjoyable and totally devoid of Hollywood-style contrivance

I had the pleasure of seeing Italiensk for begyndere in a pretty small, intimiate cinema, which set the audience up beautifully for this movie.

The characters really drive this story, rather than the film pushing the characters around. What results is a movie that takes its own time to say what it needs to say, and that allows us to gain insight on what really is a broad spectrum of very human, very diverse personalities.

Romantic comedies-dramas, by and large, are pretty hit-and-miss, though more miss than hit if they come from Hollywood. They're bogged down in clichés, saccarine melodrama and characters that don't at all behave like real people. Italiensk for begyndere avoids all that, giving us characters that could just as well be the person sitting three seats from you in the cinema, that's how human they are.

I didn't feel at all cheated with this film, and left the cinema feeling like I saw a film that speaks to people. Superb.