Six people in a small Danish town are all in such despair over their lives that their only source of happiness is the weekly Italian class they all take. Andreas is a minister whose wife has recently died. While staying in a local hotel, he befriends the lonely concierge, who has a crush on an Italian waitress from the hotel cafe. She, meanwhile, must deal with her rude and aggressive boss. Two women in the class are both careers for elderly parents, and both are having difficulties with their bad-tempered relatives.
Production Danmarks Radio (DR) [dk]; Det Danske Filminstitut [dk]; Zentropa Entertainments [dk];
Cast Names Jens-Jørgen Rask; Anders W. Berthelsen; Anette Støvelbæk; Ann Eleonora Jørgensen; Peter Gantzler; Lars Kaalund; Sara Indrio Jensen; Karen-Lise Mynster; Rikke Wölck; Elsebeth Steentoft; Bent Mejding; Lene Tiemroth; Claus Gerving; Jesper Christensen; Merete Voldstedlund; Henning Jensen; Carlo Barsotti; Alex Nyborg Madsen; Steen Svare; Susanne Oldenburg; Martin Brygmann; Alexander Noval; Matteo Valese; Armando Battiston; Silvio Zanon; Radu Zaplini;
Box Office USD 4,447,186
Release Date 2001-09-01 (Telluride Film Festival) 2001-10-01 * (Chicago International Film Festival) 2001-10-02 (New York Film Festival) 2001-10-18 (Hamptons International Film Festival) 2002-01-18 (limited) 2002-10-15 (DVD premiere)
Genres Comedy; Drama; Romance;
MPAA Rating [?] Rated R for language and some sexuality.
Running Time 1 hr. 52 min. 1 hr. 58 min. (Berlin Film Festival) 1 hr. 58 min. 1 hr. 58 min. (Telluride Film Festival) 1 hr. 37 min. (DVD version)