A Man Called Ove [Blu-ray]

A former colleague has been singing the praises of this runaway hit from Sweden. I was so happy to see "En man som heter Ove" (English captions) on the press-screening roster for the 2016 Seattle International Film Festival. That Swede is also the sharp-eyed fellow who spotted "The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out a Window and Disappeared," another Swedish comedy which was a major hit with SIFF two years ago.This award-winning comedy from Sweden and Norway is based on the bestselling novel by Fredrik Backman and adapted for the screen by writer/director Hannes Holm. This delightful romp is about a crotchety old coot who is the neighborhood curmudgeon; he still serves as president of his homeowners' association despite the fact that he was voted out several years ago. He has one single goal in mind, but seems to be thwarted at every turn...Now some new people are moving in. The first thing they do is knock down his mailbox because they don't know how to back up a vehicle with a trailer attached. And a car with some despised "White shirts" (bureaucrats) keeps defying his "no vehicles" rule. And a stray cat refuses to be run off. And his former best friend may be taken to a nursing home. And the new neighbor borrows his ladder. And...and...and... The plot is nicely complex and the humor is strictly character driven. I have rarely heard a SIFF audience laugh so heartily.The cast: * Rolf Lassgård is Ove, our eponymous grouch, still running the neighborhood with an iron fist. He patrols it every morning. * Bahar Pars - Parvenah is the lovely new (pregnant) neighbor involved with that mailbox. * Filip Berg plays the young Ove. As we watch flashbacks of his childhood we can see where this grumpiness comes from! (But Willie Nelson sings "You Are Always on My Mind," so it's fine by me.) * Ida Engvoll - The lovely Sonja has strong opinions, too! She leaves a long trail of happy students and neighbors who still miss her.As tensions mount, we see flashback after flashback which clarifies our view on the current situation. This has a whole neighborhood full of people to root for, plenty of laughs, some grief, and a nice opinion of a man who visits his beloved wife's grave every day. Many SIFF members are geared to more artistic tribulations, but a lot of us left the theater with a big smile on our faces.

Ove story is not captivating is a wake up call. Loneliness and unfortunate events happens as an effect of no real cause by you. Does give a meaning to the saying "when in hell just keep walking" I heard this in many movies and no explanation what's so ever. But this movie captivates that men and women are an evolution of cells and events while living shaped by our thoughts that also controls our actions. Perseverance, is not a given is pushed by love Just like Ove did over and over on this movie, first for his Dad, then for his wife and at the end for his neighbors. Giving definition to a different light at the end of the tunnel. Ove is the man known for every woman as perfect to fall in love with. Is the motion picture description of the man wrongfully describe in every love story, he is just plain truth not a infatuation of ideals . Well done. The Characters designed to reflect yesterday's and today's characters and persona, because even though now days we still have people moving around the world, being tough and willing to live, leaving family behind and making one of friends. This movie also tells you the story of the will of living does not pertain to you, but to your surroundings.The cast was excellent not only agreed with the story, they were able to embrace their parts because the story was so simple and yet rich of moral and ethical values. The colors, not that ever seen the weather in the European countries, but moody cloudy days did set up and bind the tone of the movie. The Cat, was just another Ove. Reminding us to value all kind of lives and the perseverance might kill you or give a home to live. The gay topic( real men don't really care if you are gay as long is not to be mention) but again the Ethical value of offering home to someone who values life so much. At the end nothing to end a story with a beginning of life. The pregnancy was a brilliant touch, what more poetical value than ending a life with the beginning of another.This movie, will captivate your heart, if you had the experience. if not, see it. It might change your world. Thank you!

This is the second foreign film I have seen--free courtesy of my Amazon Prime subscription. The other one was “The Hundred-Year Old Man.” Both were absolutely delightful. They both combined a sensitive blend of humor and pathos and, most importantly, a very respectful view of old age. The older men in these films are sweetly heroic and effective, instead of being sad caricatures of youth in decrepit bodies, with lives as impotent as their sexuality. At least, this is the impression I got from Hollywood movies like “The Grand Torino,” where the story is very similar to the one of “A Man Called Ove.” In The Grand Torino, Clint Eastwood gave a pathetic performance, as if he were one of the same hard and tough characters Eastwood used to portray in his younger days, but it is now a character sadly hobbled by age and illness, and can only be effective by sacrificing himself, Christ-like, to an overwhelmingly evil world. In “A Man Called Ove,” Ove shows the vulnerability and crustiness of one who has been wounded, as anyone who has lived a long life has been, but who can draw strength from his memories and his past loses, to embrace the world with a tender and big heart. Ove is still capable of being effective in confronting evil and helping his neighbors. Even physically, the actor has a soft body, as if the outside appearance were a reflection of the inner life. (Unlike Eastwood, who looked like an old man who desperately clings to his youth by spending most of his time working out.) The humor in the script is subtle, but it does highlight Ove’s strength, and the inner growth he continues to undergo. Ahh! if only Hollywood would learn from these foreign films, and stopped colluding with patronizing views of old age.

Ove Lindahl is in mourning. He’s been in this state ever since his wife of over 30 years died. That was six months ago. Cancer took her away from him, and she in turn took Ove’s meaning of life with her to the grave. Her name was Sonja.His days are monotonous now. He grieves, looks at old photos, has flashbacks, visits Sonja’s grave, flowers in hand, talking to her, or to her headstone, confessing his heartache for her and how he so yearns to join her. He also spends his time rigidly enforcing the rules of the local housing association. Everything must be in its place in his well-ordered world. Otherwise, chaos. This zeal brings him into contact with many who despise his micro-managing. In his states of deep depression and loneliness he also makes several suicide attempts, all of them interrupted or bungled.Once he was chairman of the housing association. No more, replaced by a man in a wheelchair who has had a stroke. He’s also being pushed toward forced retirement by his company, having worked steadily for it for over 40 years. Next year he turns 60, so that’s it — too old, useless, best of luck.Ageing used to be easier in traditional societies. Age brought the elderly experience and wisdom, respect and prestige. Elders in the community were valued, appreciated, looked up to. They taught others the art of survival, an art which they themselves had learned. But now the elderly are redundant and obsolete, replaced by the internet and other sources of knowledge. Social services care for them, not loved ones. They live in ‘nursing homes’ or ‘care centres’ where care means pills, bed pans, institutional meals, television. Concentration camps, in other words, without the rock quarries. Work doesn’t make them free: vegetation makes them dead. Which perhaps is one objective of these homes/gulags.Ove’s past wasn’t easy, either. He hardly knew his mother. She died young. His father was quiet and one-dimensional, a mechanic whose only interests were trains and the working parts of internal combustion engines. Ironically, or fittingly, he died for his love, or for one of them, as he got hit by a train and run over. The comedy or tragedy of errors in Ove’s youth carried over into adult life. For instance, his house was scheduled for demolition. It managed to survive this onslaught, but one night a neighbouring house caught fire. The fire brigade was able to save that house but not Ove’s, flames having leapt onto it, consuming it. Thus Ove was born under a bad sign or dark star. Luck never comes his way. Or almost never did.This changed with Sonja. He met her after his house burned down, and she was the best thing that ever happened to him. She was the holy grail of happiness for him. But if their love was real, it was fragile too like everything else. It couldn’t last and didn’t. So now he is alone again — alone with his thoughts, memories, pain, suicidal tendencies.However, the drama will turn in some unexpected ways. His neighbours are awful, or so he feels, but not all. Some may even emerge like angels, and not all of them are Swedish. This is not exactly the Swedish version of “It’s a Wonderful Life,” yet it’s like that classic American film in that it has heart, sweet but not sentimental.A story of redemption, then, though it’s best not to say how, nor to reveal the incidents of dark humour that lead up to it.If the Scandinavian view of life in its comedic forms is droll and dry, this probably has much to do with history and geography. Relatively remote and distant, the lands of the European north have never been on the road to anywhere. In fact, they’re the end of the line, the only thing beyond them the North Pole at the top of the world. So why not laugh at apparent neglect instead of cry? The Swedes are able to laugh at themselves, as well as at the world, which perhaps is a clue to their relatively good mental health. All the countries of the north score high on the happiness and well-being indices, so they are doing something right, in this case laughing through the pain. The film is compassionate, humane and sometimes quite funny. It was nominated for two Academy Awards and is based on a best-selling novel of the same name in Sweden. In Swedish and Farsi (Persian) with English subtitles.

Il s'agissait du DVD, bon, mais moins bon que le livre qui, lui, est remarquable. Mais il arrive très souvent que le film est moins bon que le livre. Je ne regrette pourtant pas de l'avoir commandé. Par ailleurs, votre service est particulièrement bon, et je vous en remercie.

Literaturverfilmung / Drama-Komödie"Ein Mann namens Ove" ist die lang erwartete Verfilmung von Fredrik Backmans unvergleichlichem Weltbestseller, die nun ab 18. August 2016 als DVD, Blu-ray und VoD auch Heimkino-Fans begeistern wird. Mit viel hintergründigem Witz und Herz erzählt Regisseur Hannes Holm ("Familienchaos - All inclusive", "Salto für Anfänger") diese hinreißende Komödie über eine unerwartete Freundschaft und eine große Liebe. In der Titelrolle brilliert Schwedens Schauspielstar Rolf Lassgård ("Nach der Hochzeit", "Wen man liebt"), der in Deutschland berühmt wurde als Kurt Wallander in den Henning Mankell-Verfilmungen. Das wundervolle Ensemble wird komplettiert durch Bahar Pars ("Bei Einbruch der Dunkelheit"), Filip Berg ("Two Little Boys") und Ida Engvoll ("Der Kommissar und das Meer"). Ein zu Herzen gehender Film, vielleicht der berührendste des Jahres.InhaltSo einen Nachbarn wie Ove (Rolf Lassgård) kennt jeder: Schlecht gelaunt, grantig, in die Jahre gekommen. Einer, der jeden Morgen seine Kontrollrunde in der Reihenhaussiedlung macht, Falschparker aufschreibt und Mülltonnen auf korrekte Mülltrennung überprüft. Aber hinter seinem Gegrummel verbergen sich ein großes Herz und eine berührende Geschichte. Seit Oves geliebte Frau Sonja (Ida Engvoll) gestorben ist, sieht er keinen Sinn mehr im Leben und trifft praktische Vorbereitungen zum Sterben. Doch dann zieht im Reihenhaus nebenan eine junge Familie ein, die als Erstes mal Oves Briefkasten umnietet. Während Ove gerade aus dem Leben scheiden will, wird er gestört. Parvaneh (Bahar Pars) die neue Nachbarin mit Ehemann und Kindern, während sie mit dem nächsten schwanger ist, bringt neuen Schwung in das Leben des Rentners. Statt endlich seine Frau im Jenseits wiederzutreffen, muss er sich um die Parvaneh kümmern und um andere in der Nachbarschaft. Er hat wieder eine Aufgabe, die er annimmt, trotz oder gerade wegen der misslungenen Selbstmordversuche. Und zum Meckern und Granteln ist es nie zu spät, wäre sein Herz doch bloß nicht so groß.KritikBewegend, emotional, einfach großartig. Nach dem Tod seiner Frau und der Entlassung bei der Arbeit nach 43 Jahren ist für Ove das Leben eigentlich beendet. Nur muss er halt noch nachhelfen und wird ständig dabei gestört. Hinter seiner schlecht gelaunten Maske steckt ein guter Kern, den seine Nachbarin sofort erkennt und annimmt. „Der Hundertjährige…“ ist gegen diesen Film nur eine kleine Nummer, das hier ist großes wunderschönes Kino.Bewertung bei Maschseeperlen.de: 8,3/10 PunktenSpannung: 2/4 - Action: 2/4 - Humor: 2/4 - Erotik: 1/4 - Anspruch: 3/4

No need for Tom Hanks to remake it in American image as it works better in the original foreign film version. I really enjoyed it.

This DVD is wonderful. I read the book, and encouraged others to read the book or get the DVD. It is a book that is funny, as, heartwarming and tugs at your heart.