Danish Films for Beginners
June 7th 2008 08:13
I couldn't go past it. I figured a film called 'Italian for Beginners' from Denmark would at least teach me a bit about the Italian language. I was somewhat misinformed by the title, but got captured into the old mentality of liking something to the point of willing to stick with it for a couple of hours.
The cinematography was a bit like a home video, but only to the degree of making you feel at home in order to prepare the viewer for a rocky ride through a few interesting love stories. Don't get me wrong, this isn't your average entangled vine of red roses and wine. The film focuses on that initial spark that gets things rolling, and is more a sign of hope and warmth as opposed to tragedy and lust.
The camerawork, being without frills and special effects, made me think about the type of stuff I've been doing. Throughout the film I made the connection between learning to drive a car and learning to capture the eyes and make them want to watch whatever is being played out in front of them. You've also gotta be cool with your hands - driving a manual is like not using a camerastand, and an automatic would have it propped up there and then - and able to focus on what's in front of you.
All the characters are somewhat tragic, so as the film rolls into hope for each one it becomes a kind of European cold weather heart-warmer. With minimal budget, I found interest maintained through a clever and entertaining screenplay that had you caring about the characters without throwing you in the deep end. With the premise and money of a short film, Italian for Beginners managed to be a full length movie that defies the Hollywood-formulaic odds.
This is yet another European film that tells the mainstream not every film needs to follow the formula of big money and pretty faces in order to be successful. Although some may disagree with me about the faces not being pretty.
Let's just say... their situation isn't pretty.
In case you haven't noticed, this is my type of film. It had me thinking on many levels - relationships and my previous, current and future versions of such (which I may have delved into a bit too much with these sites), as well as the practicalities and lessons to be learned in life. And it made me comfortable thinking about them. Its nice to have a movie make you want to dwell on the fact that life is sweet, whether you have a sweet tooth palate approach to life or not.
4 out of 5, maybe add a half a star for the extra padding it provided for the winter.
The cinematography was a bit like a home video, but only to the degree of making you feel at home in order to prepare the viewer for a rocky ride through a few interesting love stories. Don't get me wrong, this isn't your average entangled vine of red roses and wine. The film focuses on that initial spark that gets things rolling, and is more a sign of hope and warmth as opposed to tragedy and lust.
The camerawork, being without frills and special effects, made me think about the type of stuff I've been doing. Throughout the film I made the connection between learning to drive a car and learning to capture the eyes and make them want to watch whatever is being played out in front of them. You've also gotta be cool with your hands - driving a manual is like not using a camerastand, and an automatic would have it propped up there and then - and able to focus on what's in front of you.
All the characters are somewhat tragic, so as the film rolls into hope for each one it becomes a kind of European cold weather heart-warmer. With minimal budget, I found interest maintained through a clever and entertaining screenplay that had you caring about the characters without throwing you in the deep end. With the premise and money of a short film, Italian for Beginners managed to be a full length movie that defies the Hollywood-formulaic odds.
This is yet another European film that tells the mainstream not every film needs to follow the formula of big money and pretty faces in order to be successful. Although some may disagree with me about the faces not being pretty.
Let's just say... their situation isn't pretty.
In case you haven't noticed, this is my type of film. It had me thinking on many levels - relationships and my previous, current and future versions of such (which I may have delved into a bit too much with these sites), as well as the practicalities and lessons to be learned in life. And it made me comfortable thinking about them. Its nice to have a movie make you want to dwell on the fact that life is sweet, whether you have a sweet tooth palate approach to life or not.
4 out of 5, maybe add a half a star for the extra padding it provided for the winter.
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Comment by RubySoho
Music Zone
Thought Zone
Nice review.
Comment by Optomistic Opportunism
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