Le vieux qui ne voulait pas fêter son anniversaire

A centenarian in an elderly home decides to walk out moments they were about to host party for his 100th birthday.

On the surface, how eventful an event could this be? Well you would be surprised. He goes to the bus station and with the little money he had buys a one way ticket out of town. A stranger asks him to look out for his luggage and though he agreed he decided to steal it and little did he know that it was filled with money which made him a wanted man.

From then on, we follow this centenarian who tries to avoid the elderly home who sent for him, the gang who owned the stolen money as well as the police. His action plan: none! He took it a step at a time and the audience were treated to en ever ending hilarious situations all the way to the end.

Clever plot, well made in a way that actually made it somewhat believable (unlike the Hollywood tendency to go way over the top) this was an unexpected treat.

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

An unexpectedly great movie. I wasn't anticipating much from this Swedish independent, but was laughing all the way through. Fast paced and written with wry deadpan humor.

The main character displays similar characteristics to Peter Sellers' Chauncey, in 'Being There'. Its also somewhat reminiscent of Arthur Penn's 70's classic 'Little Big Man' starring Dustin Hoffman in terms of the plot layout.

Whether these were intentional homages to personal favorites of mine is not clear, but they worked magnificently. Serious belly laughs as dry humor is dropped effortlessly into every scene.

It is such a refreshing change from all those polished Hollywood set pieces which have decreasingly appealing sequels.

Enjoy.

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.

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.