A Man Called Ove

Ove (Rolf Lassgård) is an angry, old man who has just recently lost his wife, Sonja (Ida Engvoll), and his job of 43 years. He lives alone in a fenced neighbourhood, where he ensures that the rules are followed to the word. Ove attempts to kill himself multiple times in the film, in at least three different ways, but life just won’t grant him the permission to be with his wife again in death. It is, in fact, the arrival of a new, young family in his neighbourhood to somehow interrupt all his suicide attempts. In particular, the encounter with the Parvaneh (Bahar Pars), the mother of three now living next to him, will with time and persistence, remind Ove that there is still room in his heart for emotions other than hate. While most of the plot appears to be easily predictable, it is that same predictability, combined with the excellent characterisation of the protagonists, that Holm successfully exploits in order to induce an emotional reaction in the audience. By the end of the film, Ove, the unpleasant, unlikeable, grumpy man we are introduced to at the start, is shown to be a man with (literally) too big a heart. With two Oscar nominations and international praise, Hannel Holm’s new black comedy drama is a bittersweet Swedish treasure.