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NUMBERS
Box Office: $63,227
details...
CONSENSUS
Quirky without being overly cutesy, Elling is a gentle, warm comedy.
CAST & CREW
Per Christian Ellefsen, Sven Nordin, Per Christiansen
Directed by Peter Naess
more...
SYNOPSIS
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. more...
MPAA RATING
R, For Language and Some Sexual Content
RUNTIME
90 minutes
RELEASE DATES
Theatrical: May 29, 2002
Video: Nov 19, 2002
RELEASE COMPANY
First Look
GENRE
Comedies, Dramas, Mental Illness
OFFICIAL SITE
• The Official Elling Site
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NEWS ARTICLES
SUBMIT/EDIT ARTICLE
SUBMIT USER REVIEW
FORUM
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 "The movie ultimately relies a bit too heavily on grandstanding, emotional, Rocky-like moments ... but it's such a warm and charming package that you'll feel too happy to argue much."
-- Jeffrey M. Anderson, SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER
"The subtle strength of "Elling" is that it never loses touch with the reality of the grim situation."
-- Jeanne Aufmuth, PALO ALTO WEEKLY
"...hits every cliche we've come to expect, including the assumption that "crazy" people are innocent, childlike and inherently funny."
-- Sean Axmaker, SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER
 "Rather than real figures, Elling and Kjell Bjarne become symbolic characters whose actions are supposed to relate something about the naïf's encounter with the world."
-- Marjorie Baumgarten, AUSTIN CHRONICLE
"This Norwegian comedy celebrates an unusual friendship and the uncanny ways two eccentrics come into their own despite the great odds against their doing so.
"
-- Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, SPIRITUALITY AND HEALTH
"Heartwarming here relies less on forced air than on Petter Næss' delicate, clever direction ... and a wonderful, imaginative script by Axel Hellstenius."
-- Hazel-Dawn Dumpert, L.A. WEEKLY
"It's a hard film to resist."
-- Marshall Fine, JOURNAL NEWS
"[Næs] directed the stage version of Elling, and gets fine performances from his two leads who originated the characters on stage."
-- Maria Garcia, FILM JOURNAL INTERNATIONAL
"Tedious Norwegian offering which somehow snagged an Oscar nomination."
-- Phil Hall, FILM THREAT
"There is one surefire way to get a nomination for a best-foreign-film Oscar: Make a movie about whimsical folk who learn a nonchallenging, life-affirming lesson while walking around a foreign city with stunning architecture."
-- Chris Hewitt, ST. PAUL PIONEER PRESS
"unpretentious, charming, quirky, original"
-- Arthur Lazere, CULTUREVULTURE.NET
"The moral is not too original, but the offbeat characters certainly are."
-- Sean Means, SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
"immanently worthy of its Best Foreign Film Oscar nomination"
-- Christopher Null, FILMCRITIC.COM
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"Elling builds gradually until you feel fully embraced by this gentle comedy."
-- Jeffrey Bruner, DES MOINES REGISTER
"A sweet film about two gentle souls - there is a genuine caring between them that feels like watching old friends."
-- Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, THEMOVIECHICKS.COM
"The script is smart, not cloying."
-- David Elliott, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
"Beautifully observed, miraculously unsentimental comedy-drama."
-- Bill Gallo, NEW TIMES
"Elling offers a captivating glimpse into one of cinema's most unlikely and touching friendships since Midnight Cowboy."
-- Pam Grady, REEL.COM
"Fortunately, Elling never gets too cloying thanks to the actors' perfect comic timing and sweet, genuine chemistry."
-- Justin Hartung, CITYSEARCH
"What 'Dumb and Dumber' would have been without the vulgarity and with an intelligent, life-affirming script."
-- Harvey S. Karten, COMPUSERVE
"Forages for audience sympathy like a temperamental child begging for attention, giving audiences no reason to truly care for its decrepit freaks beyond the promise of a reprieve from their incessant whining."
-- Wade Major, BOXOFFICE MAGAZINE
"Elling really is about a couple of crazy guys, and it's therapeutic to laugh along with them."
-- John A. Nesbit, CULTUREDOSE.NET
"Cutsie but still fairly compelling."
-- Mary F. Pols, CONTRA COSTA TIMES
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FRESH 94%
Avg. Rating: 7.7/10 |
"That neither protagonist has a distinguishable condition hardly matters because both are just actory concoctions, defined by childlike dimness and a handful of quirks."
-- Michael Atkinson, VILLAGE VOICE
"An enjoyable experience."
-- James Berardinelli, JAMES BERARDINELLI'S REELVIEWS
"Touches smartly and wistfully on a number of themes, not least the notion that the marginal members of society ... might benefit from a helping hand and a friendly kick in the pants."
-- Ty Burr, BOSTON GLOBE
"It is refreshingly undogmatic about its characters."
-- Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
"Believes so fervently in humanity that it feels almost anachronistic, and it is too cute by half. But arriving at a particularly dark moment in history, it offers flickering reminders of the ties that bind us."
-- Stephen Holden, NEW YORK TIMES
"Elling, portrayed with quiet fastidiousness by Per Christian Ellefsen, is a truly singular character, one whose frailties are only slightly magnified versions of the ones that vex nearly everyone."
-- Ann Hornaday, WASHINGTON POST
"It's thoroughly entertaining and nonpatronizing, and occasionally even insightful."
-- Terry Lawson, DETROIT FREE PRESS
"Blessed with two fine, nuanced lead performances."
-- Carla Meyer, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE
"Calls to mind the great screen pairings of dysfunctional buddy pictures of the past."
-- Bruce Newman, SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS
"A charming but slight comedy."
-- Michael O'Sullivan, WASHINGTON POST
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"There aren't too many films that can be as simultaneously funny, offbeat and heartwarming (without a thick shmear of the goo, at least), but "Elling" manages to do all three quite well, making it one of the year's most enjoyable releases."
-- Jon Popick, PLANET SICK-BOY
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* Who are the Approved Tomatometer Critics?
* Mouse over a tomato icon for a publication's original rating. Original rating not available for every publication.
* In fairness to critics whose last name begins with a letter at the end of the alphabet, certain pages are sorted in reverse order, z-a.
* Certain "Elling" article data provided by the Movie Review Query Engine.
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