Elling (2001)

Name: Elling
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Released: 2001-03-16
Duration: 90 min
Rating: 7.1
Cast: Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jørgen Langhelle, Per Christensen

Elling (2001), directed by Petter Næss, starring Per Christian Ellefsen and Sven Nordin.

03/16/2001 BR Comedy and Drama 1h 30m

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Quiz about this movie

They're packed and ready for the greatest adventure of their lives. All they have to do is get out of the house.

Synopsis

40-year-old Elling, sensitive, would-be poet, is sent to live in a state institution when his mother, who has sheltered him his entire life, dies. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and female-obsessed virgin, also in his 40s.

Svein KrøvelCinematography
Petter NæssDirector
Inge-Lise LangfeldtEditing
Dag AlvebergProducer

Elling Collection

The franchise in release order. 3 films.

Elling 2001 · you are here
Mors Elling 2003
Elsk meg i morgen 2005

About the film

Elling is a Norwegian black comedy film directed by Petter Næss. Shot mostly in and around the Norwegian capital Oslo, the film, which was released in 2001, is primarily based on Ingvar Ambjørnsen's novel Brødre i blodet ("Blood brothers", 1996), one of a series of four featuring the Elling character – the others are Utsikt til paradiset ("A view of paradise", 1993), Fugledansen ("The bird dance", 1995), and Elsk meg i morgen ("Love me tomorrow", 1999). The film was followed by an original prequel not based on any of the novels, Mors Elling (2003), and a sequel, Elsk meg i morgen (2005) based on the fourth and last book in the series.

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Plot

The movie deals with the main character, Elling, a man in his 40s with generalized anxiety, and his struggle to function normally in society. He has anxiety, dizziness, and neurotic tendencies, which prevent him from living on his own. Elling has lived with his mother his entire life, and when she dies, the authorities take him from the house where he has always lived and send him to an institution. His roommate is the simple-minded, sex-obsessed Kjell Bjarne. The Norwegian government pays for the two to move into an apartment in Oslo, where every day is a challenge as they must prove they can get out into the real world and lead relatively normal lives. With the help of social worker Frank and a few new friends, they learn to break free from their respective conditions. Elling eventually discovers a new vocation as a rebel poet, while Kjell befriends a pregnant woman with a drinking problem, which eventually turns into a romance. The film ends with both men as firm friends, embarking on new lives filled with hope.

Cast

Elling — (Per Christian Ellefsen)

Kjell Bjarne — (Sven Nordin)

Reidun Nordsletten — (Marit Pia Jacobsen)

Frank Åsli — (Jørgen Langhelle)

Alfons Jørgensen — (Per Christensen)

Gunn — (Hilde Olausson)

Hauger — (Ola Otnes)

Johanne — (Eli Anne Linnestad)

Cecilie Kornes — (Cecilie A. Mosli)

Haakon Willum — (Joachim Rafaelsen)

Eriksen — (Per Gørvell)

Servitør på bar — (Knud Dahl)

Stasjonsbetjent — (Knut Haugmark)

Reception

Critical response

Elling has an approval rating of 85% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 59 reviews, and an average rating of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Quirky without being overly cutesy, Elling is a gentle, warm comedy". Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 70 out of 100, based on 21 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

Box office

It was the most popular Norwegian film of the year with admissions of 750,000.

Awards

Academy Awards: Best Foreign Language Film — Nominated (2002)

Amanda Awards (Norway): Best Actor (Per Christian Ellefsen) — Nominated (2001)

In addition, the film was nominated and won several other awards all over the world.

Prequel

A prequel, Mother's Elling, was released in 2003.

References

External links

Elling at IMDb

Elling at Box Office Mojo

Elling at Rotten Tomatoes

Text from Elling on Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elling

Trivia

It premiered on March 16, 2001, a Friday.
It runs 1h30 — a typical feature length.
It won 0 award(s) and received 2 nomination(s) on record at Wikidata — Academy Award for Best International Feature Film among them.
It is film 1 of 3 in the Elling franchise.
This film's quiz has 11 questions — enough to play more than once without repeats.

Production

StudiosMaipo Film
CountriesNorway
LanguagesNorwegian
StatusReleased

More about this film

Nominations

Academy Award for Best International Feature Film 2002
International Submission to the Academy Awards 2002

Based on

Brødre i blodet

Set in

Oslo

Photos

Cast

Quiz about this movie

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Crew

Svein Krøvel Cinematography
Petter Næss Director
Inge-Lise Langfeldt Editing
Dag Alveberg Producer
Lars Lillo-Stenberg Original music
Axel Hellstenius Screenplay

Questions about this film

What is Elling about?

Elling: 40-year-old Elling, sensitive, would-be poet, is sent to live in a state institution when his mother, who has sheltered him his entire life, dies. There he meets Kjell Bjarne, a gentle giant and female-obsessed virgin, also in his 40s.

Who directed Elling?

Elling was directed by Petter Næss in 2001.

Who stars in Elling?

The cast of Elling includes Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jørgen Langhelle and Per Christensen.

How long is Elling?

Elling runs for 90 minutes, or 1h30.

What is Elling based on?

Elling is based on Brødre i blodet.

What is the correct order of the Elling Collection films?

The Elling Collection franchise has 3 films in the catalogue. In release order: Elling; Mors Elling; Elsk meg i morgen.