'Italian for Beginners' is the first romantic comedy to be made under the Dogma mandate and the first one of its kind to be directed by a woman. An ensemble piece, the story follows six thirty-something lonely souls in a remote Danish town. A motley crew, the six singletons are all looking for partners and after enrolling in an Italian class, take a trip to Venice where they come to terms with both themselves and their feelings. Scherfig has made a splendid looking and well acted film. The screenplay is measured and finds decent humour in predictable scenarios, and the tone throughout is generally upbeat. You might not remember an awful lot about it afterwards, but 'Italian for Beginners' is very enjoyable stuff while it lasts.
