"Elling"
Still steering away from Hollywood movie productions, today I watched a very charming Norwegian flick by the title "Elling". It is a story about a 40 year old Elling, who was taken away from his home when his mother died. All his life, he lived with his mother. An only child, of a single mother. He had noone to call a friend.
Elling was institutionalized at a psychiatric instution. There he shared a room with a 'giant' Kjell Bjarne (also 40 year old), a hippo who always thought about nothing but women and sex, having never experienced one himself.
This odd and dysfunctional 'couple' shared a room together for two years. After which the instution decided to see if Elling and Kjell are ready to live in the real world. They were released and relocated into a welfare apartment in Oslo, under a close watch of a welfare officer. The story unfolded witnessing Elling and Kjell's attempt to diffuse themselves into the real world, when leaving their apartment was already a challenge in itself.
The entire flick was sweetly filled with many idiosyncrasies, abnormalities, friendships, all endearing as you grew to love Elling and Kjell.
Highly recommended. This is a great movie to watch and you will walk away with an upbeat warmth in your heart.
"Elling" was an Academy Award Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film 2001.
posted by Taiko Tari @ 6:25 PM
5 Comments:
mbak Tariiii.. minjeeeeeeeemmmmm... :D
Kinooooo, iyaaaa boleeeeeeeh. ntar dulu ya Mbak Sandra mau minjem dulu, abis itu tentu situ boleh meminjamnya. Sip itu!
Hi,
I've seen your fantastic profile photo over at Montchan's - the yellow light is amazing (or lack of ligth perhaps). Came over to see if there's more where that came from. But what do I find: a review of "Elling"! I loved Elling from the very first minutes of the roll, when he introduces himself by complaining with indignation that people should mind their own business and not bother him in his own home. This while kind people are trying to convince him to come out of the cupboard where he's barricaded after his mother's death. Loved it!
Thank you for the compliments, Genilimaa. That photo was representative for my blog ID as it is a picture of me playing the taiko drum. Friend of mine who's a photographer took it, and I share your impression -- she did a truly great job!
Elling is a great movie, and I just read your recommendation on the other movies. Will check them out.
You got a cool blog, and if it's OK, I'll link yours to mine.
Excellent! And I'll link mine to yours right this minute.
Post a Comment
<< Home