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Elling
review by Carrie Gorringe, 21 June 2002
28th Seattle International Film
Festival The winner of
this year's Golden Space Needle Award, as chosen by audience
members, was the Norwegian film, Elling. The film revolves
around the live of two former patients of an asylum who are deemed
ready for a half-way house life after spending two years as
roommates in an asylum. After being established in a small
government-run apartment in central Oslo, they must learn to deal
with life on their own. They face considerable hurdles: both are,
not surprisingly, socially inept: Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen)
suffers from agoraphobia, and Kjell (Sven Nordin), a big, shaggy
bear of a man, is obsessed with sex. Their considerably inept
attempts at social reintegration increasingly frustrates the social
worker (Jørgen Langhelle) assigned to their case; although
sympathetic to their situation, he has to continually remind them
that too many failures (many of them hilarious) will result in their
return to the asylum. This description might read as the source
material for a screwball comedy, and, indeed, Elling is
overflowing with humor, but the film is really more than a series of
cheap one-offs. Director Peter Naess and screenwriter Axel
Hellstenius accomplish a feat that seems to be almost extinct in
contemporary comedy: they wrap it in a layer of well-woven
sensibility, meaning that they have crafted an exquisite film full
of compassion without ever patronizing their characters. Neither
Elling nor Kjell seem like products that have simply been dreamed up
from a screenwriter's imagination; their behavior, dreams and hopes
cannot be dismissed as something "different" from the rest of
"normal" society. There's a genuine sense of empathy between
audience and character. Despite a few (and minor) narrative stumbles
near the end of the film, Elling is a worthy recipient of
this year's award.
Seattle International Film Festival
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Directed
by:
Peter Naess
Starring:
Per Christian Ellefsen
Sven Nordin
Marit Pit Jacobsen
Per Christiansen
Jorgen Langhelle
Written by:
Ingvar Ambjornsen
Alex Hellstenius
Rated:
NR - Not Rated.
This film has not yet
been rated.
FULL CREDITS
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