Elling

Elling is a Norwegian comedy-drama about a man in his forties who has spent his whole life shut away from the world by his mother. When she dies, he is placed in a state institution, where he shares a room with Kjell Bjarne, a large, good-natured man of similar age who thinks mostly about food and women. After two years there, the authorities decide the two are ready to try living on their own and give them a flat in Oslo, where they must manage shopping, telephone calls and other everyday matters that Elling finds daunting.

The film was directed by Petter Næss, following his 1999 debut Absolute Hangover, and written by Axel Hellstenius, with Dag Alveberg producing for Maipo Film. Per Christian Ellefsen plays Elling and Sven Nordin plays Kjell Bjarne, with Marit Pia Jacobsen, Jørgen Langhelle, Per Christensen and Hilde Olausson in supporting roles. Næss went on to direct Mozart and the Whale, Into the White and Ekte kjærlighet.

Released in March 2001 and running 89 minutes, the film drew a critics' rating of 7.1/10 from 59 reviews, matching its audience score of 7.1/10 on TMDB across roughly 200 votes. That agreement between professional and viewer assessments, on a modest number of ratings, points to a film that was received steadily rather than divisively.