Elling

Rating:
Summary: Funny and Heartwarming
Review: This film should have won the academy award for best foreign film! It is wonderfully well-acted--the characters come alive and you care about all of them. There were a couple of inside jokes using names of Norwegians/current events that we didn't get--not living in Norway--but other than that, the themes of the film are universal--love, friendship and concern for others can help overcome our own fears and uncertainties in life. It was also wonderful to listen to the lovely, lilting Norwegian language, as I hadn't heard it spoken since my great grandmother lived with us many years ago. (hot dog=sausage plus lefse!)

Rating:
Summary: the drama, not suffering
Review: This film show us with humor the objetive with the process of rehabilitation of people with mental health. Here we can see many aspects of the project. It's a important film.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely charmed me. Still smiling
Review: This minor gem was made in Norway and was nominated for best foreign film last year at the Oscars. I had forgotten to check it out, but thanks to my friend Rosanne, I did. "Elling" is one of those 'charming' comedies about the mentally ill. That said, it works really well thanks to clever dialogue and wonderful acting from the title character, especially. See, these two guys are released to a welfare apartment from the psychological hospital and have to deal with starting a normal life, or they must return. Sweet bumblings ensue. Great movie to watch with your parents that you'll all enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Absolutely charmed me. Still smiling
Review: This minor gem was made in Norway and was nominated for best foreign film last year at the Oscars. I had forgotten to check it out, but thanks to my friend Rosanne, I did. "Elling" is one of those 'charming' comedies about the mentally ill. That said, it works really well thanks to clever dialogue and wonderful acting from the title character, especially. See, these two guys are released to a welfare apartment from the psychological hospital and have to deal with starting a normal life, or they must return. Sweet bumblings ensue. Great movie to watch with your parents that you'll all enjoy.

Rating:
Summary: Elling
Review: Touching & funny, a film that will stay with you for as long as memory permits. It makes me yearn for the similar thoughtful U.S. films of decades ago. I saw 'Elling' with Norwegian friends whose only mildly negative comment about the translation (we saw the sub-titled version) was that it failed to capture the linguistic differences between the two men -- Elling was clearly was of a much higher social class than his friend whose language skills were very poor. That in no way lessened my enjoyment or understanding of the film, however, or its meanings. It was wonderful.

Rating:
Summary: Very sweet funny film...
Review: Very sweet funny film about two Norwegian men who are released from a mental institution and learn to make lives for themselves in state subsidized housing. Good characters and a gentle spirit make for comforting and fulfilling viewing.

Rating:
Summary: Funny & Warm in a most deviant way...
Review: When Elling's mother dies he is sent to an institution where he becomes roommates with the delayed virgin Kjell Bjarne, who is mesmerized by women. At the institution Elling is telling Kjell stories about his "escapades" in the Carribean and other exotic places and they eventually become good friends. Two years later, these two 40 year olds are sent to Oslo where they meet Frank Åsli, their social worker, who is going to check up on them and see if they are capable of living a normal life. However, Elling suffers from severe xenophobia and gets anxiety attacks from the sounds of the telephone. When Frank notices that they do not answer the phone when he calls, he gets annoyed and begins to force Elling to answer the phone in his presence when no one is calling. This is a huge task for Elling, but also a beginning for a new life for the two of them. Elling was nominated for an Oscar in 2002 for Best Foreign Language Film and has received many other awards. However, what makes the film shine is the brilliant acting as well as the humane story. In the end, the audience is left with a very warm and sensitive comedy that will cause laughter, tears, and pondering in a most inspirational manner.