finally, a good movie!

of course it probably helped that I didn't read the book (if there is one) that the movie was based on so I wasn't setting myself up for disappointment. "Elling" is one of the greatest movies about fear, friendship and LIFE that I've seen in a while. It is right up there with "The Kitchen Stories" and "Schultze Gets the Blues". Why can't Americans make movies like these? These are all genuinely intelligent but also kind of sweet and sad in a way that just can't be done here. For one thing, nothing can be SUBTLE here, our society just keeps dumbing everything down for the lowest common denominator and people don't "get it" unless they are hit over the head with it. I'm all for watching something simply for entertainment but I don't feel like it has to be absolutely moronic.