
A young minister, a widower, is temporarily assigned to a church whose suspended pastor drove parishioners away; he stays at a hotel where he meets Jørgen, who's alone approaching middle age. Jørgen's friend Finn, a temperamental restaurant manager, may be about to be fired. Finn's assistant is Giulia, a lovely young Italian who prays for a husband. Olympia, a clumsy bakery clerk, has an ornery father; Karen, a hairdresser, has a mother who is very ill. The paths of these s... (Full plot summary below)
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A young minister, a widower, is temporarily assigned to a church whose suspended pastor drove parishioners away; he stays at a hotel where he meets Jørgen, who's alone approaching middle age. Jørgen's friend Finn, a temperamental restaurant manager, may be about to be fired. Finn's assistant is Giulia, a lovely young Italian who prays for a husband. Olympia, a clumsy bakery clerk, has an ornery father; Karen, a hairdresser, has a mother who is very ill. The paths of these six characters cross at church, in the restaurant, at the hotel, and at an Italian class at the local adult school. Loneliness, grief, solace, romance, and love may meet 'nel mezzo del cammin di nostra vita.
Leave your thoughts about Italian for Beginners.
| Orlando SentinelRoger Moore[Scherfig] has made a movie that will leave you wondering about the characters' lives after the clever credits roll. |
| Film ScoutsJason GorberAt the core a sweet, enjoyable movie that even the most casual movie-goer would enjoy. |
| Charlotte ObserverLawrence ToppmanA dramatic comedy as pleasantly dishonest and pat as any Hollywood fluff. |
| Globe and MailDon DrukerFor Hollywood, love is the province of an aristocracy of the Beautiful and the Blessed. But in the world of Italian For Beginners, love is for us. |
| Los Angeles TimesKenneth TuranA delicious and delicately funny look at the residents of a Copenhagen neighborhood coping with the befuddling complications life tosses at them. |
| Fantastica DailyShirley KlassThis one does a nice job and reminds us that the core of a good film is a good story. |
| South Florida Sun-SentinelLaura KellyItalian For Beginners achieves a charming juxtaposition with this setting and story. |
| Toronto StarPeter HowellAlthough Scherfig occasionally strays too far into the absurd, the movie is a refreshing change from formulaic romantic comedies. |
| OregonianMarc MohanA charming romantic comedy that is by far the lightest Dogme film and among the most enjoyable. |
| TheMovieChicks.comCherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann PaloneThere is pathos in funerals, family issues, and loneliness but it helps the audience connect with the characters and makes them more real - they manage to find laughter even in the darkest of situations. |