Elling (2001)

Netflix Summary: "Per Christian Ellefsen and Sven Nordin play the shy, retiring Elling and the imposing Kjell in this Norwegian movie about two mentally challenged friends who battle adversity and find their place in the sun. The two room together and attempt to create a life for themselves outside the confining, but protective, walls of the hospital. Directed by Petter Naess, Elling was nominated for an Academy Award in the Foreign Language Film category."

My Thoughts: I actually rented this movie quite a while back and loved it - but I just saw that it popped up on Netflix Watch Instantly this week - so I wanted to let everyone know! The description makes it sound a little depressing but this is NOT a depressing foreign movie. It's a comedy - a buddy movie almost. Just that the buddies are a little off mentally. The main character, Elling, is the quiet and reserved roommate who is a recovering mama's boy. His roommate, a slower and oafish Norseman, a la Dawber from Coach, is his polar opposite. They're on their way out of the mental institution - Kjell, the virgin giant, and Elling, the fraidy cat who is afraid of living.

This isn't a movie where you're waiting for something bad to happen. It seems that most foreign movies I watch have that inkling that something terrible is about to happen, that there is a bad turn in the movie. But no - it's just an easy and fun watch. It's character driven, the plot is good though and moves the two characters along the path of basically "growing up" although they're adults. They make friends, they go drinking, and you see them learning to associate with the real world. Maybe I like it because I think I'm there sometimes - trying to learn about living happily in the world. I think we all get like that at some point. And this movie is an optimistic view of learning to live happily.

Where to Queue: At the top of the list!