List Price: $14.99You Pay Only: $13.49 You Save: $1.50 (10%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
EAN: 0786936180961
Format: Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC
Label: Walt Disney Video
Manufacturer: Walt Disney Video
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Walt Disney Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: October 15, 2002
Running Time: 97 minutes
Sales Rank: 26300
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Theatrical Release Date: 2001
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Editorial Review:
Description:
An unforgettable romantic comedy that's earned overwhelming acclaim, ITALIAN FOR BEGINNERS is a warm and playful story about seven perfect strangers and the shared journey of discovery that changes each of their lives! In a small, rainy suburb, a mismatched collection of opposites have signed up for an Italian class in hopes of spicing up their lives! Then, as they realize the class offers them more than just language lessons, they join together on a quest to Italy with the renewed desire to pursue the romances of their lives! Once there, these world-weary students who thought there was nothing left to learn from life will get an education that will change everything they know about love!
Amazon.com:
Not your usual lighthearted romance, Lone Sherfig's heartwarming comedy warms the usually chilly Dogme 95 world of prickly eccentrics and damaged souls with a glowing sense of hope and passion. A belligerent restaurant manager, a repressed hotelier, a lonely hairdresser, and a clumsy, childlike bakery clerk are among the lonely thirtysomethings who escape the social disasters and comic chaos of their unfulfilled lives in an Italian-language evening course. It becomes a place to dream and to heal emotional wounds (and they have more than their fair share of scars). Sherfig manages to turn the familiar social landscape of films as The Celebration and The King Is Alive--fractured families, abusive parents, tragic pasts--into a backdrop for romantic comedy. If not exactly profound, Italian for Beginners remains a sweet, hopeful, and affirming tale of eccentrics who find friendship, family, and romance while learning the language of love. --Sean Axmaker
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Life, loss and love
I have seen advertisement for this movie in the library and decided to see it. It is Danish independent movie and it starts a little bit awkward. Directing feels as if someone was making a home-made movie, rather than a film. But if you can get over that, and just keep watching the movie, you will find it to be delightful. It is a story about people in a small Danish town. They are all lonely and enduring loss of people close to them (parents, spouses, etc.). In spite of the fact that the relationships of our main characters with the people they are loosing is far from perfect, they genuinely miss the people they have lost and grieve deeply. As life goes on, so does their desire to redefine themselves and find a new purpose. They start taking italian language classes at the local community center. It is the weekly classes and the comeraderie that helps them create their own sort of support group. All characters are well defined and their personal story is touching. What I found a little annoying about the film is the fact that by making the characters not too smart is somehow comedic. The story is great and i would recommend anyone to watch this film. It will give one totally new perspective on grief, life, love, loneliness and coping.
Rating:  - I don't think i watched the same movie...
... as the back of the case claims it to be. I am a big fan of foreign films and own a lot of them, so at a cheap price of $5 i picked up this title. I didn't really read up on it (like i should have) but figured it would be good for something. It sadly really wasn't. The back of the case (description) claims this movie to be a "heart-warming romantic comedy" and i didn't think it was either of those things. And i know romance or comedy or romantic comedy when i see it - and i just didn't think it excelled in either. I hate to be so negative on a movie (not film, mind you - the "Dogma 95, shot-on-8mm" is actually kinda lame) but i was disappointed. As another reviewer said "I miss REAL cinematography". The acting was nothing special, and i actually didn't really get into the characters at all - the restaurant owner/second Italian teacher guy was really annoying and a jerk, but i liked the relationship between the Italian girl and Jorgenson(?) - it reminded me of the Portuguese girl's story in "Love Actually (Widescreen Edition)" (which is a much better film). Also, if one has read the description, they are led to believe that most of the movie (or at least the parts where they "discover passion and love") takes place in Italy, when they are actually only in Italy for about 10 minutes at the end. Sadly, i found i laughed only once, and found nothing passionate, sexy or comedic for the most part. Rent if you are that interested, otherwise look elsewhere for either foreign language films or romantic ... Read More
Rating:  - Unprepared for Life
This movie answers the question: Why is the Scandinavian suicide rate so high? It's because they are unprepared to live. Bewildered and apathetic as [more or less] young and filled with hate and rage as they age, they are clearly unprepared for life. Perhaps this chilling indictment of their society by the makers was unintentional, but chilling it is.
That said, this is a barely interesting ramble thru the lives of a bunch of people with nothing to live for, and just as engrossing as you might think. I guess the makers wanted us to feel a bit more hopeful, but by the time they got the cast to Italy, the despair of these stunted lives had just become more elaborate, hardly more hopeful. I thought the script was quite poor, the acting [except for the defrocked priest, who appeared to be acting in an entirely different movie] was bland.
Rating:  - Interesting and deep
Given the low-budget ethos of this film, it succeeds in being interesting and deep, in terms of social relationships and social issues. Rather than the heavy musical cues and editing that guide us through a Hollywood movie, this film takes us gently and realistically into the lives of 6 people who try to work out their problems by interacting with others, some of whom just happen to be in the local council Italian class.
We get a realistic view of Dutch society in this film, along with the problems that people in that society encounter. This sort of everyday cultural information does not appear in the usual cinema event. As the problems develop into temporary solutions, we get close to the characters, and identify them as normal people, looking for understanding and companionship.
The Italian lessons are a link rather than a major part of the film. They are the almost accidental meeting point of the characters, and lead to the visit to Vienna which occurs at the end. In this setting, solutions appear, and we leave the characters in peace.
As with many comedies, this film has a deeper social message about the lives and conditions of the participants. It's nice to join them in an investigation of the human condition that is not dictated by heavyweight stars and huge, commercially-financed budgets.
Rating: - Truly splendid
I was lukewarm towards this movie in Movie Festival few years back because it's a Danish movie (Danish and Italians are simply mutually exclusive, in my humble opinion) and secondly, it's a Dogme movie: the kind of projects that are stripped to the bare essentials and the movies are to be seen on their artistic merits and not because of "noises" such as SFX, sound, clever editing and so forth. Therefore, excellence was emphasised upon the talent and courage of the actors and actresses. At times, art movies were not cohesive and that they were there to shock, to challenge, to conjure an experience for the viewers. After much consideration, I flagged it until few days ago, when I decided to give it a chance. It's quite surreal to see a movie that's made using cam-cameras and that it felt documentary-ish. Somehow, it pulled off neatly. The movie started in fractures: a clumsy baker who tended to an abusive father, a lonely hairdresser that got bothered by her alcoholic mother, a new priest who started a congregation whose wife had just died (of horrible circumstance), a restaurant owner that had a chip on his shoulder, a dull but good-natured hotel manager that was looking for his elusive other half, and Guiliana (the Italian girl). Whilst their lives were less than fulfilled, they found solace and comfort in their Italian class. As it progressed, they also found friendship, strength and encouragement from that tight-knit group. Guiliana, the Italian girl seemed to be a metaphor to have all ... Read More
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