I can credit a mini-vacation to visit a friend for the good fortune of catching this film at a Richmond, Virginia art house, as I'm almost one hundred percent certain it would never appear in the area where I live. Because he (my friend) and his wife had read the book on which the story was based, the natural question was how closely did the film follow the original story, and with minor exceptions, it captured the essence well enough to deter any disappointment.
The picture almost immediately calls to mind Clint Eastwood's 2008 movie "Gran Torino" and the similarities are many. The principal character Ove (Rolf Lassgard) is a recently retired senior citizen who's wife has recently passed away, and his severe conservative code of ethics is displayed in the way he attempts to enforce the administrative codes of his neighborhood block association. Told in a non-linear fashion, the story takes us back to Ove's childhood and young adult life, with a tender and touching story of how he met his wife Sonja (Ida Engvoll), and how they both managed to persevere through an unfortunate accident that left her crippled but determined to live a normal life.
What could have been a morose story is emphatically brought to life when a new set of neighbors arrives next door to Ove, and he finds his ideas of immigrants consistently challenged. One gets the sense that Ove at no time wants to be bothered with other people, but at the same time finds it impossible not to reach out and help someone in a time of trouble or crisis. Having decided that he wants to join his beloved wife on the other side, Ove is constantly thwarted in his attempt to take his own life. In that respect, the film calls to mind another picture, this one from 1971, called "Harold and Maude". The difference however, is that the character Harold fakes suicide repeatedly to get a rise out of his family, whereas Ove seeks a real outcome. Or does he? The viewer must draw one's own conclusion, particularly after Ove declares that "Killing oneself isn't all that easy."
Because this is a Swedish film, the only one I've ever seen at this point, one rather major disconnect for me occurred when the Willie Nelson song "You Were Always on My Mind" popped up in the soundtrack. In a way, it did fit the occasion because it had to do with Ove's memory of his wife, but it just seemed odd and out of context. The other concession to American film making that I'm sensitive to because I've seen it so many times now, was a product placement for Coca Cola, which shouldn't amaze me so much in a global economy, but it was just too striking not to mention it.
Filmed in Swedish with English sub-titles, this is a competent film that one ought to catch if it should come your way. Along with the heartbreak of Ove's personal story, there are many moments of warmth and humor, and you'll catch yourself chuckling in spots that are both touching and ironic. Not necessarily a feel good movie in the traditional sense, though the picture has a way of working it's magic in a profound way.
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