Based on the 2009 novel of the same name, The 100-Year Old Man who Climbed ou the Window and Disappeared is, in many ways, Sweden's answer to Forrest Gump. Rather than a supremely sentimental film about a man who stumbles into many of the biggest events of the 20th century, we are given an often goofy black comedy that is undoubtedly more entertaining.
Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) lives alone in the forest. When his cat, Molotov, is killed by a fox, Allan lures the fox with sausages and blows it up. Though getting revenge, Allan lands in a retirement home and on the day of his 100th birthday, he escapes. With no goal or destination, Allan goes on a ridiculous adventure that sees him tangle with a dangerous bikie gang, accidentally kill some people, make new friends and end up in Bali. Along the way, Allan also treats us to moments and stories from his life. Beginning with his birth, we follow Allan through childhood, a mental hospital, the Spanish civil war, the Manhattan project, and cold war Europe, all the while maintaining a love of blowing things up and simple, pure honesty.
The film really is a comedy of errors in the most delightful of ways. Rarely can you see what's coming and the film is all the better for that, with so many moments just making you laugh in shock and amusement. Mostly, this comes because of Allan's pure innocence. He's not duplicitous or dishonest, cunning or cynical, optimistic or panicked. He is both fully and barely self-aware, yet people seem drawn to his adventure.
Naturally, the film has parallels and is weighed against Forrest Gump. Whereas that film is overly sentimental and tries to shoehorn its lead into as many major events as possible, Allan's inclusion seems more gentle and more naturally accidental. Therefore, Allan's story seems to flow more easily. Oddly enough, though, each of Allan's dalliances into the past, being narrated by the now centenarian, are meant to have a moral which, in this case, often is as simple as "don't talk too much" or better yet "men shouldn't dance". It is ridiculous, but it just works.
The film's comedy is surprisingly dark, often coming at someone's expense but, given how bright and cheerful everything is on screen and Allan's innocence, it never seems quite so bad. All through the film there is a sense of cheerfulness provided by the music. It's light, jaunty and can only make you smile.
Swedish cinema strikes again with this fantastic and loveable black-comedy. It may not be wholly original, but it does everything so well and with a sense of life so absent from what we're used to. For explosions, laughs and surprisingly good makeup, look no further than The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared. Just avoid the trailer till after you've seen it.
Based on the 2009 novel of the same name, The 100-Year Old Man who Climbed ou the Window and Disappeared is, in many ways, Sweden's answer to Forrest Gump. Rather than a supremely sentimental film about a man who stumbles into many of the biggest events of the 20th century, we are given an often goofy black comedy that is undoubtedly more entertaining.
Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) lives alone in the forest. When his cat, Molotov, is killed by a fox, Allan lures the fox with sausages and blows it up. Though getting revenge, Allan lands in a retirement home and on the day of his 100th birthday, he escapes. With no goal or destination, Allan goes on a ridiculous adventure that sees him tangle with a dangerous bikie gang, accidentally kill some people, make new friends and end up in Bali. Along the way, Allan also treats us to moments and stories from his life. Beginning with his birth, we follow Allan through childhood, a mental hospital, the Spanish civil war, the Manhattan project, and cold war Europe, all the while maintaining a love of blowing things up and simple, pure honesty.
The film really is a comedy of errors in the most delightful of ways. Rarely can you see what's coming and the film is all the better for that, with so many moments just making you laugh in shock and amusement. Mostly, this comes because of Allan's pure innocence. He's not duplicitous or dishonest, cunning or cynical, optimistic or panicked. He is both fully and barely self-aware, yet people seem drawn to his adventure.
Naturally, the film has parallels and is weighed against Forrest Gump. Whereas that film is overly sentimental and tries to shoehorn its lead into as many major events as possible, Allan's inclusion seems more gentle and more naturally accidental. Therefore, Allan's story seems to flow more easily. Oddly enough, though, each of Allan's dalliances into the past, being narrated by the now centenarian, are meant to have a moral which, in this case, often is as simple as "don't talk too much" or better yet "men shouldn't dance". It is ridiculous, but it just works.
The film's comedy is surprisingly dark, often coming at someone's expense but, given how bright and cheerful everything is on screen and Allan's innocence, it never seems quite so bad. All through the film there is a sense of cheerfulness provided by the music. It's light, jaunty and can only make you smile.
Swedish cinema strikes again with this fantastic and loveable black-comedy. It may not be wholly original, but it does everything so well and with a sense of life so absent from what we're used to. For explosions, laughs and surprisingly good makeup, look no further than The 100-Year-Old Man who Climbed out the Window and Disappeared. Just avoid the trailer till after you've seen it.
