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Poster for Mother's Elling

Mother's Elling

2003 · 78 min

A gentle, bittersweet comedy about a sheltered man and his aging mother, quietly funny and tender, with an undercurrent of sadness.

Overview
Elling has lived with his mother all his life. Mom is the practical one, while Elling ponders the more theoretical aspects of life. He spends his time in their apartment reading books and looking at the neighbours through the living room window. Elling doesn't seem to need to be around others like most people. That's why Elling is less than enthusiastic when his mother suddenly decides to take her son on a beach vacation to Spain. Reluctantly, Elling agrees. After all, a lady at her age needs a good man by her side. But what Elling refuses to realize is that Mom is not only old, but also sick. Very sick. On her last vacation she tries to get Elling to see that life is bigger than their living room.

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Stream in the UK
  • Netflix
More options Data from JustWatch
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • whimsicalstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • family
  • parenthood
  • isolation
  • coming-of-age
  • death
Places
  • home
  • road trip
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour6
Realism7
Romance1
Tension3
Darkness4
Complexity4
Emotional weight7

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Netflix

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
comedy, drama
Directed by
Eva Isaksen
Written by
Axel Hellstenius
Starring
Per Christian Ellefsen, Grete Nordrå, Helge Reiss, Christin Borge, Per Schaanning, Lena Meieran, Ane Dahl Torp, Erland Bakker
Music
Lars Lillo-Stenberg
Cinematography
Rolv Håan
Runtime
78 min
Country
Norway
Languages
Norwegian

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