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They feel that natural is good and artificial is bad; they want real events filmed in real time with as little fuss as possible. Hence the hand-held cameras, natural lighting, etc., in films like "Idiots" and "Mifune."

It's not quite as dogmatic as it sounds -- the filmmakers have a sense of humor -- but it's not exactly the approach one would readily associate with a romantic comedy like this. Interestingly, it works. Dogma 95's low-key style -- as implemented by director Lone Scherfig -- fits with the scaled-down humanness of the film's gaggle of lonely hearts.

"Italian for Beginners" could be called "No Sex and the City." The city in question is a wintry Copenhagen, where a half-dozen or so singles find their way to the same adult-education Italian class. There's Hal-Finn (Lars Kaalund), a burly but sexy restaurant manager whose abrupt manner with the customers is about to get him fired. ("Don't put your teaspoon on the tablecloth, you pig!" is his idea of how to speak to a well-dressed middle-aged woman.)

Hal-Finn's best friend, Jorgen (Peter Gantzler), is a shy hotel concierge who's so preoccupied with his impotence problem, he doesn't notice that a vivacious young Italian waitress named Giulia (Sara Indrio Jensen) is gaga for him.

Olympia (Anette Stovelbaek), a klutzy bakery clerk, and Karen (Ann Eleonora Jorgensen), a self-possessed hairdresser, couldn't be more different, though both have an ailing, overly critical parent. Finally, there's Andreas (Anders W. Berthelsen), the new pastor in town. Having lost his wife six months earlier, Andreas may be losing his faith as well. "God took her away from me," he explains. "And she took God away from me."

Most of the characters consider themselves damaged goods -- too shy or too stupid or too whatever. But as they gather to learn a Romance language, they also learn the language of romance.

They all pair off a tad too predictably, and the coincidences pile up too rapidly. But the movie is so unforced and essentially benevolent, you don't really mind. And the absence of Hollywood conventions gives the film an awkward charm. These characters aren't Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks clones, nor are they Bridget Jones singletons. They're just folks, coping as best they can, stumbling toward happiness without really knowing the way.

— Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, (none)