Plantiana Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Incannerax What a waste of my time!!!

Cortechba Overrated

CommentsXp Best movie ever!

Sarah Kemp Elling (2001), directed by Peter Naess, tells the quirky and occasionally uncomfortable story of two men who are forced to learn how to live a normal life after they move out of a government-run group home. Like a buddy comedy gone astray, socially anxious Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) and simple-minded Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin) are placed in a welfare apartment until they can prove themselves capable of the real world. Elling spent his first forty years living a sheltered life with only his mother, who protected him from others. When she dies, he is placed in the group home due to his crippling anxiety. Elling narrates the terrors of unprotected city life and the editing clearly emphasizes his disorientation and discomfort. As men try to adapt, Elling begins to control Kjell and tries to limit Kjell's attachment to others for fear of losing him. Finally though, Elling develops relationships of his own and begins to cope with the outside world. The actors all give down-to-earth, believable performances that sell the film's most touching moments without going over the top.When the story begins, Elling's narration shows us just how isolated and sheltered he is. The quick cuts between black screen and brief scenes of the government institution reflect Elling's confusion and anger with his changed circumstances. Additionally, Ellefsen (Elling's actor) is entirely stiff and awkward and shies away from contact. A particularly painful montage concerning practice answering a phone shows just how debilitating his anxiety is when it comes to performing simple tasks. The cinematography also excellently reflects Elling's loneliness and discomfort, such as a series of long and far shots in which Elling is the only person in focus. As Elling grows overwhelmed by people, he becomes dizzy, the visual blurs, and Elling goes down for the count. All of this sets the scene well for major changes down the road.One thing Elling really succeeds at is making the viewer feel for all of the characters in turn. At times, it's almost possible to sympathize with Frank, the gruff social worker in charge of Kjell Bjarne and Elling. Frank has his job cut out for him in coaching the men on how the world works. In the aforementioned telephone scene, it's possible to feel Frank's frustration. Yes, he's harsh and impatient, but he does have a lot of seemingly incompetent people to watch out for. He's controlling but with the intent that Elling and Kjell Bjarne figure out real life and move on.A major shift in Elling's outlook is that of controlling to caring. Elling initially tries to make Kjell Bjarne fill his dead mother's role. Their attachment from the beginning is one of necessity and need on the part of Elling. Kjell is stupid and easy to manipulate, so he is forced to do the grocery shopping and everything else that requires going outside. It was at this point I began sympathizing with others besides Elling. He becomes too paranoid to even attempt to adapt and tries to hold Kjell back from meeting new people. It's hard for people with no impediment to normal social function to imagine how challenging daily life can be for someone with severe anxiety, but Ellefsen (in my opinion) brings a lot of truth and accuracy to the role.Luckily, the power of true friendship is finally able to lift Elling from his self-enforced solitude. One of the reasons Elling and Kjell bond in the first place is that their individual strengths make up for the weaknesses of the other. Elling over-thinks everything, but this makes up for Kjell's lack of higher reasoning skills. In contrast, Kjell hunts for connections with people and is fairly easy to get along with. Elling maintains his distance, but eventually begins to adopt Kjell's ease of making friends. Their interactions are frequently at odds, but it is only by challenging each other that they eventually reach some degree of success in the real world.Elling is hilarious at times, painfully awkward at others, but overall is quite charming. The acting and the focus on character make the film what it is: a buddy comedy with a lot of heart. This quirky story about love and friendship is enjoyable at the surface level, but is also satisfying when analyzed further. I highly recommend Elling for casual moviegoers and cinema fanatics alike.

Rebecca Lynn What do you get when you force a diminutive, neurotic mama's boy and a hulking oaf are forced to live together by the Norwegian government? This is the basic premise of Petter Næss's film, Elling. The film begins with the titular character, played with convincing neuroticism by Per Christian Ellefsen, being released from the mental institution where he has lived during the two years following his mother's death. Despite its morbid sounding set-up, Elling is a surprisingly lighthearted film that stays on the side of heartwarming without ever becoming overly silly or sentimental.Elling and his roommate, Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin), a giant interested primarily in food and sex, have been deemed ready to face the real world. The Norwegian government provides the pair an enviable, fully furnished apartment in Oslo in which to build their new life. They can keep the apartment on the condition that they make an effort to assimilate into normal life. This includes tasks that are seemingly mundane to us but panic inducing to Elling, including answering the phone and going around the corner to shop for groceries.The film arouses a great empathy in viewers. Though probably not to Elling's extent, everyone has felt fearful in certain settings, even if those fears are irrational. When Elling experiences these moments, Næss uses the camera to put us in his shoes. As the phone in the apartment rings, Elling tries in vain to ignore it, but it overcome by dizziness. The camera rocks almost imperceptibly back and forth, as if we might be overcome with anxiety and fall to the ground with Elling. As Elling learns to conquer his fears, the spinning rooms and rocking camera movements subside.Though they are pushed to action by the tough love of their social worker, Frank Asli, it is primarily Elling and Kjell Bjarne who comfort and encourage each other to grow and take risks. Kjell Bjarne feels little of Elling's fear towards the outside world. He expresses himself through his physical actions, without over thinking any process ("Kjell Bjarne seems to carry every person he meets…strange," Elling notes at one point). Where Kjell Bjarne is a man of few words, Elling is a chatterbox, and though he has trouble conveying it, he seems to possess a deep insight into the personalities of the people surrounding him. Though the two seem to have nothing in common, they form an intimate bond. One touching scene shows the two exchanging Christmas gifts: Kjell Bjarne has painstakingly constructed a model of their apartment out of thousands of matches for Elling, while Elling purchases a lewd watch with a woman on it for Kjell Bjarne ("How did you know I wanted the blonde?!" he exclaims gleefully).As the film progresses, Elling and Kjell Bjarne develop into more independent individuals while still strengthening their friendship. When Kjell Bjarne finds their neighbor, Reidun, drunk, pregnant, and passed out in the stairwell, the two form a tentative yet tender relationship. Though this initially causes Elling to pout and react with jealousy, it enables him to learn how to deal with being alone, which in turn leads to his discovery of his true calling as a poet. After this empowering experience, Elling boldly addresses Kjell Bjarne and Reidun's insecurities about their blossoming relationship and pushes them together When Reidun expresses doubt about Kjell Bjarne ("He never says anything. He's so weird," she complains to Elling), Elling advocates for him ("I prefer the English expression: 'rare,'" he replies).On an excursion to explore his new calling, Elling makes his first friend that wasn't forced upon him, an elderly writer named Alfons. Alfons, Elling, Kjell Bjarne and Reidun, each in their own way social outcasts, form an unlikely family, a support system to lean on. By the end of the film, Elling and Kjell Bjarne are not only on their way to becoming full independent members of society, but are actively benefiting the people around them.Elling never truly delves into the darker side of mental illness, and Elling and Kjell Bjarne's diagnoses aren't explicitly revealed. Kjell Bjarne often bangs his head against the wall and has a hygiene problem, while Elling is incredibly anxious and agoraphobic, but none of these behaviors seem to warrant an extended stay in a mental institution. Do the pair truly have mental illnesses, or are they simply socially maladjusted? Whatever the case, the film never makes cheap jokes about mental illness or uses it as an excuse to dehumanize or stigmatize the characters. Rather, Elling finds its humor in the exploration of two characters with diametrically opposed viewpoints working in tandem to create better lives for themselves.

MartinHafer Elling is a very odd man. He lived the first 40 years of his life with his mother--never leaving his home. When she died, he was discovered living in this hovel and was places in a psychiatric institution. Now, over two years later, the hospital is discharging him and he's to share an apartment with his friend Kjell. The problem is Elling IS mentally disturbed--with a lot of assorted symptoms of various anxiety disorders--plus he's just plain weird. As for Kjell, he, too, comes from the hospital and both are VERY awkward when it comes to fitting in to the community. What will happen with these two strange men? Will they make it or will they need to return to the hospital? I noticed that IMDb listed this film as a comedy. I really don't think it is a funny film, nor does it try to be--but it IS quirky. Instead, I see the film as a nice slice of life. It does NOT make fun of the characters but has a nice affection for them. Overall, an engaging and sweet little Norwegian film.

Siri McCord Elling is the lighthearted story of two roommates living in downtown Oslo. Elling is a self- proclaimed mama's boy, and has been for forty years. When his mother dies, however, the state comes to bring him to an institution. There he and Kjell Bjarne, a kind but women-obsessed man, first meet as roommates. After two years there, they are moved by way of welfare to an apartment in Oslo. As the two men struggle to get accustomed to life very much on their own, tensions sometimes rise and angers flare. However, the men discover many advantages to life on their own as well as developing their friendship further and further. Elling is upbeat throughout its plot and a fun film to watch.One of the major themes presented in this film is that of anxiety over feelings of personal safety. Elling has great anxiety and dizziness problems when he leaves their new apartment. After years of staying at home with only his mother for company, he also shuns talking on the phone and doesn't like to answer the door when visitors come. This desire to keep entirely to himself and Kjell Bjarne seems to rise from a fear of the unknown, a fear of being unsafe and not entirely in control. One of Elling's proudest moments is when he is able to use a public bathroom. He says of this personal triumph, "some people go skiing to the North Pole, while I have problems just crossing a restaurant floor." Kjell Bjarne also struggles with this, but to a much lesser extent. Kjell Bjarne sometimes is okay with not answering the phone, such as when they first move in, and he has a fear of talking to women. However, he has a very kind heart and has a weakness for helping people which leads him to make some new acquaintances. The characters both are able to overcome much of their anxieties by the end of the film.Another theme in Elling is that of companionship. Elling and Kjell Bjarne develop a very caring relationship. Throughout the film, however, their friendship must survive jealousy and an unhealthy dependency. Elling gets jealous easily, and they both rely heavily on each other. Like any truly lighthearted film, however, Kjell Bjarne and Elling make it through with their relationship all the stronger and healthier.Throughout the plot, the theme of finding one's place in the world is present as well. This appears in the effect of welfare support, the call of fame, and the search for meaningful relationships. Elling and Kjell Bjarne were able to stay in the apartment, as well as getting a stipend for food and other needs, from the state's money. And while the welfare system isn't glorified, the message of the film seems to be in support of how effective welfare can be in helping people. It is implied that both having their own apartment and having a figure to practically drag them to a more social and less closed-off lifestyle is extremely responsibly for the roommates' progress. Elling also feels the call of fame after he discovers how much he likes writing poetry. He debates claiming glory for his poems, yet he ignores this impulse, instead anonymously sending his poems to random people through sauerkraut packets. In this he finds happiness, not in the possible fame he gives up. This shows a lot both about his character and about the cost of fame. Kjell Bjarne and Elling also search for meaningful relationships throughout the film. These relationships help the characters, seeming to send the message that relationships help to shape and support people. Alfons Jorgensen and Reidun Nordsletten both contribute to the story by helping Elling and Kjell Bjarne to overcome some of their obstacles.The plot of this story was delightful and clear. It was very character-driven and without much action, yet it was charming. Unlike another very popular Norwegian film, Hawaii, Oslo, the storyline was straightforward and chronological. The tone of this story was warm and uplifting. The use of light colors and upbeat music, with little special effects, dramatic camera angles, or ominous color contrasts set the stage for the simple storyline. This simplicity was abundant throughout the film, and mirrored the theme of safety which is faced by the characters as well as bringing a sense of sympathy and closeness with the characters and their trials and triumphs.As the tag line says, "They're packed and ready for the greatest adventure of their lives. All they have to do is get out of the house," (IMDb.com). This is one adventure which is purposeful, delightful, and a great hit, and not to be missed!