Reviewed by Libby Drake, Thursday 30th March 2017
The Scandinavians sure know how to make a good movie. The latest offering from Sweden, A Man Called Ove, is a brilliant, heart-warming film. It's based on Fredrik Backman's 2012 best-selling novel of the same name.
Ove is 59 years old, grumpy, pedantic and obnoxious. He is the self-appointed "policeman" for the community in which he lives and every morning he does his rounds, checking that the gate is shut, poles are in good condition, the right garbage is in the right bins, parked cars have authorisation and confiscating bicycles parked in the wrong place. There is abuse for the dog that makes puddles on the pathways and hissing at the big fluffy cat who is just sitting being a cat. But there is a lot more to this man than first meets the eye.
Ove's wife has recently died and left him utterly bereft. He visits her grave every day to update her with events and his thoughts. He plans to join her shortly but is easily distracted and proves not very good at killing himself. A new family moves in next door and they start to impose on him from the moment they arrive, reversing into his letterbox. As the film progresses we find out more about how Ove has become the man he is. As well as being a story about a grumpy old man it is also a story about life, love and friendship.
Ove is played by top Swedish actor, Rolf Lassgard (Sebastian Bergman, After the Wedding, Jagarna 1 & 2), who will be familiar to all lovers of Scandinavian film and TV. He pulls out all the stops and gives an utterly captivating performance. We laugh with him, get angry with him, and cry with him. Director Hannes Holm selected Lassgard to play Ove because he is a dramatic, not a comedy actor. He thought that Lassgard would bring the right amount of pathos to the role.
All the rest of the cast are good, but there are a couple more stand-outs. Bahar Pars gives a wonderful performance as Parvaneh, the new and heavily pregnant neighbour. Having fled from Iran, learnt a new language, married, and had two children, she remains unfazed by Ove's antics. Filip Berg is excellent as Ove as a young man, whom we see through the memories of the older man. For animal lovers, there is a significant role played by a very fine cat (actually two cats, Magic for active scenes, and Orlando for sleepy/lazy scenes).
Director Hannes Holm, who also wrote the screenplay adaptation, has created a delicate balance of comedy, drama and pathos. One moment we are having a good laugh and the next we are shocked, horrified or saddened. The film has won a swag of awards, including Best Comedy and Best Actor at the European Film Awards, and gained a nomination for Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards.
Comparisons can certainly be drawn between this film and Clint Eastwood's excellent 2008 Gran Torino, but A Man Called Ove is a much gentler and perhaps more authentic movie. We have all met at least one Ove.
This is a movie for all lovers of good film and essential viewing for lovers of Scandi cinema.
A Man Called Ove is now showing at Palace Nova Eastend cinemas, Rundle Street, Adelaide where you can take a glass of wine or beer in with you.
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