Customer Reviews

Elling [VHS]

5 star:		(50)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Elling is a funny and at times touching film set in Oslo, Norway. It follows the lives of two friends Elling and Kjell Bjarne as they try to adjust to a normal life after having spent two years together in a mental institution as roomies. Elling and Kjell Bjarne are so unalike Elling is the knowledgably, sophisticated and weedy looking one and while Kjell Bjarne is more of a brute prone to angry outbursts. Elling is interested in poetry while Kjell Bjarne is more interested in sex. They are given an opportunity to show that they can cope on their own when the state decides to give them an apartment and a social worker (Frank). In the beginning even the simplest things like shopping or answering the phone are obstacles they must learn to overcome.

There are some serious moments but on the whole the film is very upbeat. You find yourself rooting for Elling and Kjell Bjarne hoping that the friendship they have built doesn't come tumbling down as they each make new friends and are drawn in differing directions. It's a touching movie with laughs and a few tugged heartstrings. There is a moment at the end of the movie that has you more than hoping for an upbeat ending.

Don't let the fact that Elling a foreign film put you off. The film still gives you the full gambit of emotions without you having to understand a word of Norwegian. The film comes with easy to read subtitles and a story line that's easy to follow.

"Elling" is the first film I've ever seen that transcends the popular film industry stereotypes and portrays people with mental illness as fully functioning three dimensional people, with both emotional and intellectual motivations as characters in a film. The prevailing "Hollywood" characterizations of mental illness seems to use three templates to portray mentally ill characters: 1) the over-the-top violent sociopath who is a dangerous predatory beast i.e...Hannibal the Cannibal; 2) the unstable visionary savant who can hardly function but is either intellectually brilliant or has or possesses some sort of supernatural power to compensate i.e...Russell Crowe in "Beautiful Mind" or Dustin Hoffman in "Rainman". or, 3) the loveable, laughable, whacky lunatic who can't fit into society and is a walking time-bomb i.e...Jack Nicholson in "Cuckoo's Nest."

This adaptation of Norwegian writer Ingvar Ambjorsen's best selling novel is a nuanced view of the lives of two mentally ill wards of the state as they struggle to adapt to living as roommates; and they try to make sense of often puzzling and arbitrary codes of "normal" social behavior. At times it is hilarious, but just as Director Peter Naess lures you into a warm and fuzzy feeling, he gives you a glimpse at the simmering rage of his main characters Elling and Kjell. Having worked as a case worker for transitional mental health patients, I can say that "Elling" is the only film I've ever seen that "gets it right" and doesn't approach the subject of mental illness in a condescending or derivative manner. Elling and Kjell aren't lovable loonies or dangerous whackos from central casting. There is a great deal of humor in "Elling" but none of it is used to demean or stereotype the principal characters. When a young punk poet, in bondage gear and Kiss whiteface screams his menacing poetry at a coffee house, it causes an anxiety attack for Elling...but it also begs the question, "Who's the crazy one, here?."

The brilliance of "Elling",however is the two actors who play Elling and Kjell. Per Christian Ellefsen (as Elling) is a fascinating and gentle soul in a constant struggle to keep his obsessions, agoraphobia and anti-social tendencies from consuming him. His sense of equilibrium is threatened by a trip to the grocery store or even picking up the phone and talking. On the other hand, Sven Nordin (as Kjell) is a hulking and affable man (think Gerard Depardieu) who is prone to wild mood swings that lead to socially inappropriate behavior. Kjell's innocence leads him to unwittingly make remarks to women which are regarded as inappropriate in polite society. Kjell is more than capable of a loving , caring sexual relationship but doesn't have the social skills to establish rapport with a female.

As the film progress the two roommates are slowly transformed into fully functional people, albeit, people who still have a lot of problems, but now have the tools to adapt to the perplexing world of social norms. Elling's friendship with elderly bohemian intellectual who shares his passion for poetry provides him with self confidence in his own tentative attempt to write poetry. Kjell's friendship as an informal caretaker for an upstairs neighbor develops into a romantic relationship, as the her pregnancy from a prior lover progresses. Kjell realizes he loves the woman and will help her care for the child as if the child was his own flesh and blood. Both Elling and Kjell anchor each other's erratic behaviors in ways that the viewer never anticipates, and they are often stunned by thier own abilty to say the right thing at the right time, to keep their roommate from spinning out of control. It's a inspiring form of peer therapy.

It is the intriguing and often quirky relationship between our two roommates, Elling and Kjell, that brings the magic to this film. Per Christian and Sven played the principal roles in the stage play of "Elling"; so if you sense that they bring a sense familiar comfort to their acting chemistry, it's because they've shared the stage for hundreds of performances as Elling and Kjell. This movie production of Elling was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2001, and is shot entirely in Oslo Norway which is a captivating and under used European film location.

Super, super, super.
Two guys in Oslo, terminally mismatched, pair up in a home for mentally disturbed adults. One is huge and maybe a little stupid and full of rage. The other is a bright but wounded and sheltered momma's boy - but then Momma died. After years of therapy (it's not clear how long they're institutionalized), they're released to try to make it on their own, with occasional checkups from a halfway-house sort of social worker who tries to help ease their transition back into society.
Watching these two fellows cope with a ringing phone, feeding themselves, the big bad world outside their apartment, traffic, a pregnant neighbor, and an old poet with a broken car is heartwarming, a little sad at times - but always you find yourself rooting for them to find happiness.
Their small triumphs, larger setbacks, and overall progress make for a touching, unbeat, and absolutely hilarious movie.

Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) and Kjell (Sven Nordin) are roommates in a Norwegian institution, and as the film begins they are being released and given an apartment in Oslo, under the supervision of a social worker, to see whether or not they can survive and thrive on their own. The film takes us through their painful first weeks, when Kjell is driven by sexual frustration and Elling fears leaving the apartment or even answering the telephone, and continues as they develop competence, confidence and even friendships. This is a touching story but is not told as an inspirational or overly sentimental tale; instead it is very human and often quite funny, with a terrific script by Madeleine Fant.

I really enjoyed these two characters as well as those they meet throughout the film, which was nominated for a foreign film Oscar, deservedly so. Director Petter Naess has done a fine job.

The dvd contains no language or subtitle options. Extras are minimal -- three trailers.

There's nothing with which to compare this film. The Odd Couple? Perhaps, but I can't remember ever caring about Oscar and Felix as much as I cared about Elling and Kjell Bjarne. The entire audience was rooting for them, and the heartwarming ending made my eyes sting with tears of real emotion. I challenge anyone not to feel the same.

In spite of lukewarm reception by American critics, Elling is bound to be an audience pleaser. It's full of the knee-slapping variety of funny while simultaneously featuring many moments that pull at the heartstrings. The story follows 2 men as they venture from the safe confines of a mental institution in rural Norway. Elling (the serious, dramatic character) longs only for a basic grasp on the world around him; Kjell Bjarne, the hulking, comedic character, wants something far more basic (though not necessarily easier to come by). Their affection for each other, oddly enough is not the least bit hard to believe. That fact stands as proof that the writing is superb.

I can't recommend this film any more heartily. It will please the masses--the serious set will be happy to see a foreign film; those looking for comedy will not be disappointed.

This Norwegian film tells the story of two not-right-in-the-head men who meet at the state institution where Elling has been sent following his mother's death. Elling is basically agoraphobic -- had spent all forty years of his life at home with his mother. Kjell is a big, imposing man with a strong interest in sex but a childish mind and personality. The two become friends so when the authorities decide to try to move them into the community, they are set up as room-mates in a state-sponsored apartment. Elling is afraid to leave the apartment and neither can answer a telephone. The social worker assigned to their case pushes them to grow (like leaving the apartment and answering the phone) and gradually they start to function in their own odd way.

This movie is quite funny in parts. It would be easy to make a Hallmark kind of sweet, sentimental movie with this plot, but it isn't. It has a sharper edge than that.

The performances by the two leads are amazing. I found myself wanting to see them in other movies or in an off-screen mode, since it was hard to believe that this was acting and not real people.

I really enjoyed this movie. I bought it because I'm starting to learn Norwegian and am looking for Norwegian films in NTSC/Region 1 that haven't been dubbed. What I got with this film is a very funny, often touching, story of a couple of misfits who are bonded together by their idiosyncrasies that learn how to make friends with "normal" people and cope with the world at large.

This is one of the funniest--albeit sweetest--movies I have ever seen. I laughed so hard I really did fall off the sofa.

Elling is such a very humane exploration of mental illness and recovery, with that special Norwegian sense of constant self-deprication. Yes, it's a Nordic "Odd Couple" for sure, but Elling is bigger and far more courageous than the TV sitcom ever was. Nothing is ever played for a cheap laugh. And, I found myself cheering for Elling and Kjell Bjarne as each of them took baby steps toward wholeness and independence.

Elling's discovery of himself as a poet, and his guerilla poetry expeditions--leaving poems inside containers of sauerkraut--was so touching.

Having received a 2-month netflix subscription for Christmas, I stumbled upon this movie while browsing. I thought it sounded like it had potential, and it exceeded my expectations.

Elling and Kjell Barne are, essentially, 2 nice guys whom don't fit into the categories of "normalcy" which are arbitrarily foisted upon the world. Elling is as meek as it gets. Or is he? He doesn't understand the world, thus he's turned inward. Kjell is more of a displaced anger sort of guy. He doesn't understand the world either, but his inner world is not so rich as Elling's.

I rented this and another movie at the same time. The other did zero for me. Being a 3-hour movie, and having not stirred me into caring by the 2-hour mark, I took it out. In went Elling, and for the next hour-and-a-half I was loving my cinematic experience. Essentially a comedy, this movie is still brimming with heart. I love these characters.

The movie doesn't mock or make fun of these characters. It treats them with all the respect and humanity with which you or I would be afforded onscreen. It draws you into their lives and lets us see them as the people we all are.

You won't cry. You won't guffaw. You won't be moved to the ostentatious degree reserved for "something really breathtaking." This movie doesn't dig like that. It scratches, pats. Something much softer and lighter holds the show close to us, close enough to gently seed us with a smile, one that's stolen from the face of a character we've just watched disregard the authority of his fears--and surprise himself.