Mette Hjort is Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Visual Studies at the Liberal Arts University of Hong Kong, Lingnan University.

"In Scherfig’s film, three men and three women embark on Italian lessons in a small Danish village as a means of eluding their acutely lonely and unhappy lives. After their teacher suffers a heart attack, the group unite in solidarity to continue the class. Hjort’s book imbues Scherfig’s film and the Dogme movement with a new depth, evaluating both the Dogme manifesto’s strengths and limitations. Hjort’s investment in Italian for Beginners surpasses much of the initial dismissal the film faced by critics upon its release. She explores the cathartic qualities of the film as part of a moral framework, one that builds on friendship and hope amongst the maligned. Hjort also reinforces Scherfig’s contribution to Dogme as the first female director to deploy and negotiate the many challenging edifices the manifesto presents. In doing so, Hjort underscores how Scherfig achieves a great sense of profundity through these means and elevates the status of Italian for Beginners in the process." - Kate Moffat, Cinema Scandinavia, Spring 2015