Italian for Beginners (Italiensk for begyndere) Denmark, 2000

Director Lone Scherfig follows the strict guidelines of dogma films (Dancer in the Dark, Dogville, Breaking the Waves) to show us the story of two sisters living in a small and peaceful Danish town. They reunite when their mother die. They did not know they were sisters until they start talking at their mother’s funeral. Along come other interesting characters, the bad-tempered waiter at the coffee shop, who constantly shouts at his clientele, the Italian kitchen aid or Mr. Mortensen, who falls in love with the Italian ragazza. In between, some of the characters are learning Italian once a week. So, you get to hear a lot of their conversation, although basic, in Italian. The last scenes shot in Venice are the perfect setting for the happy ending that director Scherfig makes us witness. This is one of my favourite dogma films because it is more of a comedy, unlike many dogma movies, which are quite dramatic and unsettling.

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