Italian For Beginners

Lone Scherfig, one of the lesser known directors of Denmark's "Dogma 95" collective, directed this interesting romantic comedy. But before I reflect on the film, here are the official rules of the dogma filmmakers:

"I swear to submit to the following set of rules drawn up and confirmed by DOGME 95:

1. Shooting must be done on location. Props and sets must not be brought in (if a particular prop is necessary for the story, a location must be chosen where this prop is to be found).
2. The sound must never be produced apart from the images or vice versa. (Music must not be used unless it occurs where the scene is being shot).
3. The camera must be hand-held. Any movement or immobility attainable in the hand is permitted. (The film must not take place where the camera is standing; shooting must take place where the film takes place).
4. The film must be in colour. Special lighting is not acceptable. (If there is too little light for exposure the scene must be cut or a single lamp be attached to the camera).
5. Optical work and filters are forbidden.
6. The film must not contain superficial action. (Murders, weapons, etc. must not occur.)
7. Temporal and geographical alienation are forbidden. (That is to say that the film takes place here and now.)
8. Genre movies are not acceptable.
9. The film format must be Academy 35 mm.
10. The director must not be credited.

Furthermore I swear as a director to refrain from personal taste! I am no longer an artist. I swear to refrain from creating a "work", as I regard the instant as more important than the whole. My supreme goal is to force the truth out of my characters and settings. I swear to do so by all the means available and at the cost of any good taste and any aesthetic considerations.Thus I make my VOW OF CHASTITY."
Copenhagen, Monday 13 March 1995

As a clarification, the films are no longer required to be shot on 35mm, but, like this one, are primarily shot on HD or DV. This may be the lightest of the dogma films that I have seen, though it's still heavy as compared to a typical romantic comedy. The characters look and act like real people. They are all desperately lonely and searching for love. If they were musicians, then they would be the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. There's a hotel manager, an female Italian chef, a hairdresser whose mother recently died (and as a result realizes that she has a younger sister), a pastor whose wife recently died, and a womanizing Italian tutor. They are all lonely, and ultmately meet at a small class in Italian. Not only are they lonely, but they are romantics and passionate. Some touching relationships form and some poignant truths are revealed. Thematically, it's similar to the other dogma films, but it lacks the power and resonance of its cinematic bretheren. It's not as emotional wracking as the films of Lars von Trier, but it's not as powerful and mature either. It's dogma-lite, and as a result may be the dogma film for those who don't like dogma films.