Mother's Elling (2003) User Reviews

More Elling

[kosmasp · 7/10 · 6 July 2021]

This may be the second Elling movie, but it also is a prequel to the previous one. So we do see the mother Elling here (and we know something about her if we have seen the other movie). Now there is also another Elling movie that I reckon is a sequel to the other one ... which would make it a double sequel to this one? Does sound weird? Well that is what you are getting with these films, so buckle up and get ready for craziness in a fun way.

Well fun way for some, not so fun for others I reckon. It is never easy to tell another person that they will find something funny and/or hillarious ... unless you know the type of humor that person does like. So if you've seen the first one and liked it ... well it is more than fair to say you will like this too. I felt it lacked a bit in comparison to the first one ... but it still is a good and funny comedy, that touches all the right (quirky) notes ...

No!

[Motorskallen · 5/10 · 3 February 2008]

I don't know how to start ... First of all, let me tell you that I loved the first "Elling" ... almost literally fell in love with him when I saw the first film. It was a bit of the Norwegian answer to "Forrest Gump" - two extraordinary guys takes care of themselves, trying to fit in and find their place in this strange world. It was fun and a bit sad at the same time.

But here comes the prequel, still with its great spots (and also a few funny scenes), but with more focus on the dark sides of the character Elling. This shows more of his personal problems, and his mothers reactions towards his "fits" or "outbursts" or what we shall call it. It becomes worse throughout the movie, and finally it became so uncomfortable to watch, I didn't even finish watching it. So, no spoilers here.

More serious than the first one, so if you expect something as heartwarming as the first one, you'll just get disappointed.

UPDATE: If you want something closer to the first one, skip this one and watch the third installment "Elsk meg i morgen" ("Love me tomorrow"). It picks up the track more or less where the first one ended, it's "serious enough" to handle, and still have that warm feeling over it.

Huge Disappointment

[princebansal1982 · 4/10 · 30 May 2011]

I loved Elling. It was a beautiful movie. Amazing, funny and touching. So I was really looking further to this movie. However this was a huge disappointment.

Mors Elling has different director from its predecessor and seems like a completely different movie altogether. It is a prequel to Elling and shows the events till the death of his mother, from where Elling starts. It is much more darker than the previous film and more realistic too. But in doing this it loses all the charm of Elling.

For fans of Elling I would recommend skipping this movie altogether and watching Elsk meg i morgen instead. It is third film of the trilogy and follows the events of Elling. Though even that is not good as Elling, it is still watchable and much better than this movie.

A bit heavy on the dark side but still a welcomed return of "Elling"

[Renaldo Matlin · 10/10 · 11 October 2003]

As sequels (or prequels in this case) go, "Mors Elling" is a good movie.

Everyone who's seen the successful movie "Elling" (2000) probably remembers that Elling was a bit... attached to his late mother (to put it mildly). "Mors Elling" is based on one of author Ingvar Ambjørnsen's books written before "Brødre i blodet" (the basis for "Elling"). It tells the story of Elling, living with his mom in downtown Oslo. She knows she won't be around for ever and in an effort to get him out in the world, and help him stand on his own two feet, she buys tickets for them both for a trip to sunny Spain!

What follows is a series of mishaps as we tag along with Elling through situations he's never been in before. Riding on an airplane, on the beach surrounded with topless women, the Spanish nightlife, befriending the Norwegian woman in the neighbouring hotel-room, etc. It is at times funny but never as light-hearted as the original movie. Here there is more emphasis on the seriousness of Elling's condition, and we rarely find ourselves laughing like we did with the first movie. More melancholy, and thus less of the warm-hearted air that made the first "Elling" so special.

But don't get me wrong, it's still a good little movie. Director Eva Isaksen is always great with actors, and the acting is as expected good, the story is entertaining, and it is surprisingly short. Around 75 minutes (!) and when it is all over I felt myself REALLY wanting to see the Elling-character again, now that I knew that much more about him.

(N)ice cold picture

[WestMike · 8/10 · 18 September 2006]

So Elling adds another experience of Nordic Films for me. Not being familiar with the previous movies staring this special person I stumbled into this little gem of a movie. To my opinion characters are fairly good depicted and act in rather believable way. Add to this a nice plot, some very comic and also some tragic moment and it will make up the kind of film I love: you may laugh at times, you even shed the small tear at times and you feel the world is not as bad as it may seem sometimes after watching.

Very enjoying, I recommend to everyone who is interested in some good European cinema.

Punchline: "They translate the menu into German, English and Swedish. Why not Norwegian - the oil business language of the world?"