Elling (2001)

Elling
Warm, original, hilarious film consistently delights and surprises, thanks to a pair of deliciously drawn oddballs. Elling and Kjell make the characters from "The Odd Couple" look like well-adjusted identical twins. Yet the film never strains too hard to be zany, and leavens the humor so we actually care about the characters as people. A quirky, winning comedy.

Qurky, funny, touching...
This little movie was quirky, funny, touching and just a joy to watch. I have lent it to three of my friends and they all loved it. If you love foreign films but sometimes find them too intense, you will love the change of pace in this movie. The two main characters are so well acted, I am surprised this didn't win an Academy Award. I would highly recommend this movie.

The Odd Couple meet Bennie and Joon
This is one of those feel-good movies that must be shared with family and friends because we all know people like these two men.

These two men had spent two years together in a mental institution, sleeping in dorm-like rooms. When they are released and housed together in a welfare apartment (A very NICE welfare apartment!) both men continue to share a bedroom because they have never been left alone. They spend their time together talking about how to conquer the outside world.

At first the audience worries about Elling, the older man, the "Mama's Boy" because his life prior to being institutionalized was all about his mother. He didn't dare venture outside; he was quite content spending his time in his apartment and reading his books.

His roommate, a Prince Valliant sort of younger man who seems to have an aversion to showering and keeping clean, has his own issues to deal with. He ventures outside but in the persuit of food. He does very little talking.

So as these two slowly make it outside, we are left wondering who of the two will be the first to make it big, and the surprise is quite ironic. By meeting others around them, these two men realize that they aren't really all that crazy afterall. Everyone around them has issues.

The scenery of the Norwegian countryside, the city shots of Oslo and the overall quick dialogue of these two odd balls make for a wonderful 90 minutes of vicarious travel to a country I've never been. The soundtrack was also quite beautiful.