Love and death, not necessarily in that order, are the storyteller's two chief inspirations.
Both are found in abundance in this bittersweet Danish pastry of a film called Italian for Beginners, opening tonight at the Princess Theatre. The body count rivals a Steven Seagal flick - a wife, a mother and a father, just to start with - tragedies setting the stage for six lonely people who find love while attending an Italian class at a community college in Copenhagen.
Italian is the language of "amore," it is pointed out by the genial Italian instructor, who unfortunately - and as it turns out, conveniently - dies of a heart attack.
A touch of "deus ex machina," to mix our languages of love, is about the only flaw in an otherwise heartwarming, thought-provoking, life-affirming film. The teacher's death is the catalyst for a trio of romantic encounters more realistic than any number of big-budget Hollywood romances you could name.
The belligerent Halvfinn - played by the Robert Redford-like Lars Kaalund - is fired from his job at an Italian bistro and is talked into taking over the Italian class.
Halvfinn falls in love with Karen, a hairdresser whose mother is on her deathbed. Karen turns out to be the long-lost sister of Olympia, a pathologically clumsy woman caring for her invalid father. Olympia is wooed by the recently widowed minister Andreas - brought in as a temporary replacement for the regular pastor, who was suspended after hurling the organist off a balcony. The organist's not dead, just seriously injured. Halvfinn's Italian friend, the cook Giulia, meanwhile, prays to the Mother Mary that the shy hotel manager Jorgen will ask her out. Jorgen also happens to have a crush on Giulia, but he suffers from erectile dysfunction.
Nothing here is too obvious. The sparks between Halvfinn and Karen start with nothing more than a sensual shampoo. Scenes between Karen and her dying mother are riveting without being melodramatic.
Overall, the performances are so strong you should have no trouble caring what happens to these flawed and frail humans, to the point that even the predictable ending is forgivable.
Italian For Beginners is a charming romantic comedy that emerges from an unlikely scenario. Kind of like real life.
(This film is rated AA)
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