Le vieux qui ne voulait pas fêter son anniversaire

The type of humor that is used in this movie was so refreshing. I love dark comedies, and I love dark humor. I appreciated it even more because it was by no means a dark movie. It was incredible how they made such a lighthearted movie with such dark comedy. Think Secondhand Lions meets Forrest Gump, I know, it's worth it though. The main Character was so nonchalant it was endearing. His care free attitude was refreshing and easy to watch. The supporting cast is what really makes the movie for me though. I don't know who any of these actors are, but the casting Director did such a good job. They all melded so well together. They fed off each other's presence and they were able to share scenes extremely well with each other. It was very play-esque in that regard.

Having read some of the other reviews I will simply say, if you take this movie too seriously you've already lost the point. If you look for flaws you're bound to find them, however, it's such a fun movie. It's light, it's dark, and personally, just a funny movie.

The Jonas Jonasson novel "The Centenarian Who Climbed Out the Window and Vanished" has been a gigantic success in Sweden, selling more that 250.000 copies. A success that has spread to a lot of other countries as well. I read the book just days before I saw the world premiere on this, as I got the book as a x-mas gift, just two days before the premiere.

Well, to make a long story short, this is an unlikely black comedy in style of Forrest Gump, though darker and way more stupid, and filled with more stupid humans. Other films it's in class with here would be "Fargo", "One night at McCools", "Seven psychopaths" a.s.o. The book functions, and I'm glad to say that the narrative grips made on this as a script works as well. It's a good farce, which will give out many laughs. The two hours goes like it's one.

The 100 years old Allan runs away from his birthday party, and starts a story which only he could be behind. Inwise decisions gives severe results, and looking back on his own life, he's done it before. He's made both tragedy's as well as things leading to happier consequences. They have tried to lock him up more than once, but he's not the easiest to detain.

I enjoyed the film in a quite crowded cinema, which already started laughing at the first scene, and so i t went on. A mixed audience, with surprisingly many pensioners, which have read the book, will probably guarantee the film to be an even bigger success than the novel. At least, that's my guess.

Well, how well is the novel brought to the screen, then? Well, surprisingly well, I would say. The most boring parts of the book is when Allan thinks back, and this is narrated down, so that the story happening present is the main thing. That's a major thing in making this work. There's been some minor changes done to shorten the travel, which unfolds like some kind of a trip or road movie, if you like, just as the book.

The make up is brilliant, and way better than we've seen in Hollywood films (!). Amazing. Robert Gustafsson, playing Allan, is just turning 50, but here he looks perfect both in the twenties, the thirties and as 100 years old. (Well, maybe he looks eighty-something more than 100, but still it's quite passable.)

Some of the CGI isn't exactly brilliant. This I see much better in Norwegian movies. Especially all the explosions are bad, but it doesn't hurt the story, since it's far from believable anyway. The famous persons portrayed are also quite good. The casting is well done, also when it comes to the actors playing the younger Allan. What annoys extremely is the music, which not only is stupid and too "funny", it's also very high in the sound mix. This is the worst bit of the movie. There's also some goofs, like the frozen guy and a tank lid closing itself, while driving away, but still not very big issues.

So very well done, and the best Swedish comedy I've seen in many years. Thanks to a great staff, a quite large budget (63 millions SEK) and wonderful actors. (I'm sure it will play in the money!) The book is well taken care of, and if you enjoyed the movie, you'll find a lot more in the book, now with the clients you've seen here.

What do you get when you combine Forrest Gump style "travel the world, affect history" kind of storyline, add in a heap of dark adult humour and have the protagonist's main character trait to be that he likes to blow stuff up? In a word, this movie.

It's not as great as Forrest Gump. It's clearly imitating the latter, which is not a problem per se, but it causes us to draw comparisons. And while this film is a great deal of fun, the characters are not as nuanced and are there more for the sake of humour than story. It also doesn't have the depth and humanity, at least not to the same amount.

But let's not dwell on the Forrest Gump similarity too much. Because this film does have strength to stand on its own. It's a hilarious film about an old grump that one day simply decides that retirement home doesn't suit him. And thus he jumps out of the window and goes wandering like, as we find out through numerous flashbacks, he has always done when life gets too boring. Along the way he meets all sorts of people, including an elephant in Sweden, and hijinks ensue, like they often do in these kinds of movies.

This movie shines because of its unpredictability and fast pace. You never know what's coming next and the movie keeps up relentless pace, not letting you dwell on the unlikeness of the things happening on screen, which serves the film's purposes very well. The characters and their actors are also very charismatic and fun to follow around. Sure they're a bit stereotypical, aside from the main character, but that doesn't really bother you as you're watching them go because the events they're in are so bizarre.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared has one of the most cumbersome titles in a while, but trust me when I say that the film is anything but. If you're looking for a comedy with a dark sense of humour, this is not a bad choice.

Not really of course, but I wouldn't be surprised if some would make that comparison. That old man also seems to have left his mark in history. And while I haven't read the book, I can tell you that the movie is funny in a weird way. Something that you might expect from something with a title like that.

The story moves along nicely with interceptions from time to time, that tell us what happened when he was younger. And also are there to show us what sort of character he is. It's tough to really threaten a man of his age. The actor playing him is much younger of course, which we can see when he plays the younger version in the flashbacks. The makeup is more than decent enough in the "now". Really nice and good, this movie is entertaining

This film follows the progress of Allan Karlsson, a simple man with a predilection for blowing things up, after he leaves his nursing home to embark on a journey that will take him wherever it takes him. Through flashbacks we see that this is a metaphor for his entire life. Karlsson has, it turns out, been with several significant figures of the 20th century and, unwittingly, has profoundly affected its course.

The film is comic, darkly comic, absurdist, farcical, a chase caper, an espionage thriller and, finally, peaceful. It is all of these things successfully in a way that Wes Anderson's "The Grand Budapest Hotel" attempted to be, but didn't quite manage. More importantly, the characters are entirely believable despite the often fantastical story lines. It is also beautifully shot.

"Life is what happens to us while we are making other plans." — Allen Saunders

Thoroughly recommended.