Prequel and sequel

Do you have any desire to see the Elling prequel, Mors Elling (Mother’s Elling) or sequel, Elsk meg i morgen (Love Me Tomorrow)? Elsk meg i morgen, which had the same director as Elling, seems to have gotten okay reviews, but Mors Elling, which had a different director, was apparently widely disliked.

Norwegian politics

It seems like this film is saying a lot about Norwegian politics. One review I read said that Elling almost worshiped the head of the Labour Party partly because the Labour Party’s policies gave him his apartment. But I felt more like his love for the party must have come from his mother.

Did you get the feeling that someone who understands Norwegian politics would see a lot in this film that one would otherwise miss?

Acting

Per Christian Ellefsen (Elling) and Sven Nordin (Kjell Bjarne) played these roles in a stage version of Elling before the movie was made. One reviewer said this lent a “lived-in” quality to their performances. Do you agree?

Mental illness

Much of the negative criticism I’ve found on Elling centers around its treatment of mental illness. For one thing, it is unclear what is wrong with these two guys. In a sense, it seems like they have some unrealistic made-for-film mental illness.

On the other hand, much of the positive criticism of the movie is due to what it says about mental illness. Some reviewers thought it did a good job of using abnormal characters to show things about normal life. Other reviewers (ones who are perhaps skeptical of psychology and psychiatry) say that it says does a good job of teaching that the mentally ill “need a friendly kick in the pants.” (Yes, that’s an actual quote from a review by Ty Burr of the Boston Globe.)

What do you think of the film’s treatment of mental illness? Does it bother you that the film portrays it as inherently funny?

Comedy

Elling is clearly a comedy. But is it funny?

Ben’s pick

Isn’t it time we did a Norwegian film?