Elling

This sort of Norwegian Odd Couple follows the struggles of two mental-institution roommates who are moved to a state-funded Oslo apartment in an attempt to return to them to reality and independence. Elling (Per Christian Ellefsen) is a mama’s boy (he developed “an intense two-ness through 40 years” of living with his single parent) who has two main enemies when he ventures into the public: dizziness and anxiety. Kjell (Sven Nordin) is a large, beefy lout primarily interested in women (he is still a virgin) and food. They meet a pregnant, unmarried neighbor and an elderly poet as their lives broaden from complete isolation to being able to answer their own phone, fetch their own groceries and socialize. This compassionate, comic story about taking chances and pushing the envelope of a very restricted status quo is more whimsical than deeply probing and is crafty enough to succeed within its own self-imposed limitations.