21 April 2007
Laughter, Still the Best Medicine ... Nobody Wants to be Lonely!

Elling
Petter Næss, Norway, 2001.
89 minutes.

Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) is a neurotic middle-aged man who has led an extremely sheltered life and is institutionalized after his mother's death triggers a nervous breakdown. Upon being discharged, he is given a flat in Oslo to share with his friend and fellow patient Kjell Bjarne (Sven Nordin), a food-loving would-be womanizer whose loutish behavior occasionally proves taxing to the fastidious Elling. At first both men are paralyzed by separation anxiety and fear of the outside world, and simple tasks like grocery shopping or making a phone call present major challenges. Once Kjell Bjarne decides to venture beyond the confines of their home, however, his unlikely infatuation with a lonely pregnant woman (Marit Pia Jacobsen) causes a rift between the two friends, prompting Elling to start forging social contacts and seek a calling of his own.

Cast: Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jørgen Langhelle, Per Christensen.

2001 AFI Fest - Nominated, Grand Jury Prize; 2002 Oscar Awards - Nominated, Best Foreign Language Film; 2001 Amanda Awards, Norway - Nominated, Best Actor (Per Christian Ellefsen); 2001 Lübeck Nordic Film Days - Winner, Audience Prize of the "Lübecker Nachrichten", Prize of the Ecumenical Jury; 2002 Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival - Winner, Best Film; 2002 Rouen Nordic Film Festival - Winner, Audience Award, Best Actor; 2001 San Sebastián International Film Festival - Winner, Best New Director - Special Mention, Youth Jury Award; 2002 Seattle International Film Festival - Winner, Golden Space Needle Award Best Film; 2002 Selb Film Festival - Winner, Audience Award, Best Film; 2001 Stockholm Film Festival - Winner, Best Screenplay, FIPRESCI Prize Northern Lights Section. For its outstanding performances, literate script and detailed setting which depict with humor and compassion the plight of marginal people. Nominated, Bronze Horse; 2002 Warsaw International Film Festival - Winner, Audience Award; 2002 Würzburg International Filmweekend - Winner, Audience Award

The Guests / Ha-Ushpizin
Giddi Dar, Israel, 2004.
90 minutes.

Cast: Shuli Rand, Michal Bat-Sheva Rand, Shaul Mizrahi, Ilan Ganani, Avraham Abutboul

In Jerusalem's orthodox neighborhoods, it's Succoth, seven days celebrating life's essentials in a sukkot, a temporary shack of both deprivation and hospitality. A devout couple, Moshe and Mali, married nearly five years and childless, are broke and praying for a miracle. Suddenly, miracles abound: a friend finds Moshe a sukkot he says is abandoned, Moshe is the beneficiary of local charitable fundraising, and two escaped convicts arrive on Moshe and Mali's doorstep in time to be their ushpizin - their guests. The miracles then become trials. Rabbinical advice, absolution, an effort to avoid anger, and a 1000-shekel citron figure in Moshe's dark night of the soul.

2004 Awards of the Israeli Film Academy - Winner, Best Actor (Shuli Rand). Nominated, Best Screenplay, Supporting Actor (Shaul Mizrahi)

The Mad Cage / Birds of a Feather / La Cage aux folles
Edouard Molinaro, France/Italy, 1978.
87 minutes.

The film title is the name of a nightclub run by a pair of homosexuals, one of whom has a son who wants to marry the daughter of a high official. His parents--gay nightclub owner Renato and effeminate transvestite Zaza--must meet his pompous and conservative in-laws. For the sake of their son, the gay couple decide not only to act straight, but to pose as husband and wife! On the night of the party however, insanity reigns when "mom" and "dad" fail to adhere to the "straight" and narrow. This French art house smash was remade in the US as THE BIRDCAGE with Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Gene Hackman.

1980 Oscar Awards - Nominated, Best Costume Design, Director, Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium; 1979 César Awards, France - Winner, Best Actor (Michel Serrault); 1979 David di Donatello Awards - Winner, Best Foreign Actor (Michel Serrault). Tied with Richard Gere for Days of Heaven (1978); 1980 Golden Globes, USA - Winner, Best Foreign Film; 1979 National Board of Review, USA - Winner, Best Foreign Language Film

Sources: imdb.com, allmovie.com