I watched this movie
A Man Called Ove (Swedish: En man som heter Ove, pronounced [ˈuːvɛ]) is a Swedish comedy-drama film... The film was written and directed by Hannes Holm, and is based on author Fredrik Backman's 2012 book of the same name. In the leading role as Ove is Rolf Lassgård. The film was nominated for six awards, winning two, at the 51st Guldbagge Awards in 2016. It was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film and Best Makeup and Hairstyling categories at the 89th Academy Awards.It's clearly not a Hollywood-style movie, featuring a curmudgeonly older man rather than a superhero, in a story where nothing explodes. It begins a bit slowly, until the viewer learns a bit of the backstory of the protagonist. A pleasant diversion for an evening's entertainment.
Reposted from 2017 because the Tom Hanks-version remake is currently being widely publicized. This original version is probably better (see readers' opinions in the comment thread). Likely available from your local library as a DVD.
Addendum: It took me several months to get the Tom Hanks-verson DVD from our library. After viewing it last night, I'm of the firm opinion that it's as good as the Swedish original. Tom Hanks is a very convincing "grumpy old man," and Mariana Trevino is outstanding as his effervescent savior.
Official trailer embedded above. For those who want a bigger sample, try this 10-minute "extended preview."
One thing drove me crazy. Otto goes for his pre-induction physical for military service and is shown this chest xray [images cropped for size/emphasis]:
He may well have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (a symmetric and slowly progressive enlargement of the heart), but the CXR shows a 10-cm mass in the left upper lobe of the lung consistent with bronchogenic carcinoma. I suspect some low-level intern was given the assignment to "find us an xray showing a big heart" and returned with the one they used. Amazing that nobody noticed this; the xray could have been deleted from the scene with no loss of necessary information.
Hasn't this film already been made - the grumpy guy gets turned nice by a neighbor?
ReplyDeleteGreat coincidence. Started reading this last night after my wife read and raved about it and the movie is on our list now. Did you see/read 'the 100 year old man who climbed out the bathroom window?' After a few chapters it's reminding me of that.
ReplyDeleteAnd by another coincidence the "man who climbed out the window" was one of the trailers before the Ove movie. It looked interesting, so I requested the DVD from our library and it's now in transit to us on interlibrary loan.
ReplyDeleteElling is another quirky Scandinavian comedy if you're looking for more of that sort of thing. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0279064/
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing "Ove" is the Swedish version of the German name "Uwe"?
ReplyDeleteLurker111
Watched this alone about 6 months ago after being pressured into it by my daughter-in-law. I guessed it would be a typical grumpy old fart story with redemption. I was pleasantly surprised, and happy that no one saw my tears.
ReplyDeleteI know why she wanted me to see it and I love her for it.
So, I watched it last night with my wife and two daughters. It was excellent, and I appreciate the recommendation.
ReplyDeleteNot a dry eye in the house.
Yes, I liked this one as well! More so than The 100-Year Old Man actually (the movie, at least): while both entertaining, the latter seems to try a bit too hard to be quirky; Ove has more of a feel-good vibe to it.
ReplyDeleteAm halfway through the book after recommended by a friend. I fell in love pretty quickly with Ove. A curmudgeon, sure, but a man with a simple and admirable way of looking at life and a deep, abiding love for Sonja. Can't wait to finish the story.
ReplyDelete"A Man Called Ove" just popped up on Netflix (Canada). Looking forward to watching it!
ReplyDelete-gem
I don't dare.
ReplyDeletexoxoxoBruce
Thank you. I want to see it. There's a movie called The Wedding Gift that it looks like it might go with. It's Jim Broadbent and Julie Walters.
ReplyDeleteNicely done film. After I finished watching I started thinking about the similarities to a book I had read recently called "My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry", which was also quite nice. Both written by the same author. Both recommended.
ReplyDeleteVery good film, but there is the female saving the man from the male shtick/cliche I find tedious. I'd like to see this remade with a nasty old lady being loved into shape by some kind young men. It's no less likely in the real world, but less politically correct.
ReplyDeleteCrowboy, it sometimes seems as though you consider all glasses to be half-empty.
DeleteMore like 90% empty--with a small crack in the bottom of the vessel. (Half-empty thinking occurs only on days I feel semi-hopeful and semi-willing to suspend disbelief. Half-joyous and half-magical, but infrequent.) Anyway, I'd give one eye for a rose-colored monocle.
Delete"Tatie Danielle"
DeleteFrench film I saw it more than thirty years ago at a foreign film festival in Pittsburgh and a couple times since then on DVD. Not quite the "old woman saved by young man" film that Crowboy longs for, but still a film worth seeing.
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tatie_danielle
"I'd give one eye for a rose-colored monocle."
Deletehttps://www.etsy.com/listing/1108406036/red-monocle-black-glasses-for-men-gothic?ga_order=most_relevant&ga_search_type=all&ga_view_type=gallery&ga_search_query=red+monocle&ref=sr_gallery-1-1&sts=1&organic_search_click=1
Overheard at the library, a conversation about films from Scandinavia: "Swedish films are dull and tedious, and the ones from Finland are even more depressing; Norway has the happiest films.".
ReplyDeleteWatched this today on Amazon Prime. I enjoyed it very much and thank you for bringing to my attention. Being both a Volvo and a Saab enthusiast I appreciated not only the vintage examples of those Swedish autos but also the side story of the rivalry between the two characters and the challenge it brought to their friendship.
ReplyDeleteA roundup of some reviews of the Tom Hanks version: https://digg.com/movies-and-tv/link/tom-hanks-a-man-called-otto-review-roundup-marc-forster-mfN4qaFoJq
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