affair but during Christmas Karen overhears Hal-Finn disparaging her mother, and angrily ends their relationship. Jørgen approaches Andreas for advice about his impotence and his trouble talking to Hal-Finn's Italian friend Giulia, and decides to ask her out for a walk. In the meantime Olympia receives a letter from the bank telling her of a large inheritance from her father. She decides to spend it taking the Italian class to Venice. In Venice, Jørgen proposes to Giulia who accepts, Karen forgives Hal-Finn after he cuts off his too-long bangs, and Andreas suggests that Olympia, whose clumsy behaviour has caused her to be fired from 43 jobs, come to work as a chorister. He then reveals that he plans to stay in the parish. Cast Anders W. Berthelsen as Andreas Anette Støvelbæk as Olympia Ann Eleonora Jørgensen as Karen Peter Gantzler as Jørgen Mortensen Lars Kaalund as Hal-Finn Sara Indrio Jensen as Giulia Karen-Lise Mynster as Kirsten, the real estate dealer Rikke Wölck as Lise, the nurse Elsebeth Steentoft as Kirketjener Bent Mejding as Reverend Wredmann Lene Tiemroth as Karen's mother Claus Gerving as Klaus Graversen Jesper Christensen as Olympia's father Reception Critical reception On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 85 reviews, and an average rating of 7.2/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Unlike many romantic comedies, the charming Italian for Beginners feels natural and genuinely heart-warming." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 77 out of 100, based on 28 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Accolades The film won the Jury Grand Prix Silver Bear at the Berlin Film Festival, the Golden Spike Award for the best film of the year at the Seminci film festival in Valladolid, Spain, and the Audience Award at the Warsaw International Film Festival in Poland. Peter Gantzler won the award for Best Actor at the Seminci festival. The film also won the Gold Dolphin (Best Film) at the Festroia International Film Festival in 2001. References Literature Mette Hjort, Lone Scherfig's Italian for Beginners, Museum Tusculanum Press, 2010. . External links FILM FESTIVAL REVIEW; "Finding the Right Spark for a Guy With a Problem" New York Times 2 October 2001 2000 films 2000 romantic comedy films Camcorder films 2000s Danish-language films 2000s English-language films Films about language Films based on Irish novels Films directed by Lone Scherfig Films set in Venice 2000s