Overview

Lone Scherfig was the first of a number of women directors to take up the challenge of Dogme, the back-to-basics, manifesto-based, rule-governed, and now globalized film initiative introduced by Danish filmmakers Lars von Trier and Thomas Vinterberg in 1995. Entitled Italiensk for begyndere (Italian for Beginners), Scherfigs Dogme film transformed this already accomplished filmmaker into one of Europes most noteworthy women directors. Danish and international critics lavished praise on Scherfig and her film, and their reactions harmonized with those of festival juries. Battered by life, but by no means defeated or destroyed, the characters in Italian for Beginners are all in touch at some deep intuitive level with the truth that is the films basic message: that happiness and a sense of self-worth are sustained by loveby romantic love, to be sure, but also by inclusion in a community of like-minded people. The book includes the Dogme manifesto and interviews with the filmmaker as well as with the cast and crew.

Full Product Details

9788763534833

Table of Contents

Reviews

""In Scherfigs film, three men and three women embark on Italian lessons in a small Danish village as a means of eluding their acutely lonely and unhappy lives. After their teacher suffers a heart attack, the group unite in solidarity to continue the class. Hjorts book imbues Scherfigs film and the Dogme movement with a new depth, evaluating both the Dogme manifestos strengths and limitations. Hjorts investment in Italian for Beginners surpasses much of the initial dismissal the film faced by critics upon its release. She explores the cathartic qualities of the film as part of a moral framework, one that builds on friendship and hope amongst the maligned. Hjort also reinforces Scherfigs contribution to Dogme as the first female director to deploy and negotiate the many challenging edifices the manifesto presents. In doing so, Hjort underscores how Scherfig achieves a great sense of profundity through these means and elevates the status of Italian for Beginners in the process."" - Kate Moffat, Cinema Scandinavia, Spring 2015

In Scherfigs film, three men and three women embark on Italian lessons in a small Danish village as a means of eluding their acutely lonely and unhappy lives. After their teacher suffers a heart attack, the group unite in solidarity to continue the class. Hjorts book imbues Scherfigs film and the Dogme movement with a new depth, evaluating both the Dogme manifestos strengths and limitations. Hjorts investment in Italian for Beginners surpasses much of the initial dismissal the film faced by critics upon its release. She explores the cathartic qualities of the film as part of a moral framework, one that builds on friendship and hope amongst the maligned. Hjort also reinforces Scherfigs contribution to Dogme as the first female director to deploy and negotiate the many challenging edifices the manifesto presents. In doing so, Hjort underscores how Scherfig achieves a great sense of profundity through these means and elevates the status of Italian for Beginners in the process. - Kate Moffat, Cinema Scandinavia, Spring 2015

Author Information

Mette Hjort is Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Visual Studies at the Liberal Arts University of Hong Kong, Lingnan University.

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