A MAN CALLED OTTO IS A MOVIE WITH A BIG HEART
A Man Called Otto is a 2023 movie directed by Marc Foster and with Tom Hanks as leading actor. This movie is based on the book A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman. My wife read, enjoyed and was very touched by the book, so we were really curious and excited to watch this movie. The movie surely didn't disappoint us at all.
The movie tells the story of Otto. By following him in his daily duties in the first part of the movie, we get to know him more and more. Otto is an old and grumpy man, who has lost his wife, and with that, any hope for happiness and purpose in his life. He is retired and lives in Pittsburgh. In his neighborhood, he is the self-appointed responsible one for a series of maintenance tasks and, most importantly, for checking that rules are followed, without any room for flexibility. He acts like a sociopath and is extremely annoyed by the people around him. Through a series of flashbacks, we also learn about his past and about the love story with his beloved wife.
The first thing I want to say is that Otto is a very believable character with a very realistic human path, and all of that is portrayed very well in the movie. Following his wife's death, Otto finds himself locked in a bubble, including only himself and his pain, preventing him from moving on, and rejecting people around him. We can see that he is a good man, but one who doesn't allow himself to show that side to other people. We can see that he is an unhappy man, who doesn't allow himself to enjoy even little things. Whenever he even smells some of the "outside world", he immediately goes back to his bubble. In one of his outbursts, he perfectly summarizes his human condition: "I don't want to clear Sonya from my life. There was nothing before her, and there's nothing after!"
The movie brings the viewer into Otto's world, and does it with a very light touch, which provides for fun moments and for touching moments, and fully preserves the complexity of Otto's character and of his drama.
Needless to say, Tom Hanks does an amazing job in the role of Otto and that brings so much added value to the movie. Mariana Treviño, who portrays Marisol, a young woman, mum of three kids, moving to Otto's neighborhood with her family, is also excellent in this movie.
Having this new family in the neighborhood brings changes and a lot of fresh air in Otto's life. While I want to keep this a spoiler-free review, I want to highlight that A Man Called Otto does not only make us reflect on lost love and its consequences, but also on the inestimable value that can be brought to our life by unexpected people in unexpected circumstances at unexpected times. "Can a man be born again, once he is old?" (John 3:4).
Regarding the weaknesses of this movie, they have to do, from my point of view, with some of the side story paths, which are a bit stretched and not as believable as the rest of the movie. The same applies to some of the emotional moments, which don't necessarily bring added value to the story.
More time could have been given to the development of the relationship between Otto and Marisol's family. While we realize that this relationship strongly impacts Otto's path, I had the impression that I could not really witness all the events leading to the developments in Otto's life story, or at least, that some of that moved too fast. In other words, some of these developments don't seem fully justified by what we have seen in terms of characters' exploration. It is a bit of a pity, as other than that, well-developed characters and their intense interactions are a big part of what makes this movie so good.
Touching and enjoyable movie. 7 Stars!
The movie tells the story of Otto. By following him in his daily duties in the first part of the movie, we get to know him more and more. Otto is an old and grumpy man, who has lost his wife, and with that, any hope for happiness and purpose in his life. He is retired and lives in Pittsburgh. In his neighborhood, he is the self-appointed responsible one for a series of maintenance tasks and, most importantly, for checking that rules are followed, without any room for flexibility. He acts like a sociopath and is extremely annoyed by the people around him. Through a series of flashbacks, we also learn about his past and about the love story with his beloved wife.
The first thing I want to say is that Otto is a very believable character with a very realistic human path, and all of that is portrayed very well in the movie. Following his wife's death, Otto finds himself locked in a bubble, including only himself and his pain, preventing him from moving on, and rejecting people around him. We can see that he is a good man, but one who doesn't allow himself to show that side to other people. We can see that he is an unhappy man, who doesn't allow himself to enjoy even little things. Whenever he even smells some of the "outside world", he immediately goes back to his bubble. In one of his outbursts, he perfectly summarizes his human condition: "I don't want to clear Sonya from my life. There was nothing before her, and there's nothing after!"
The movie brings the viewer into Otto's world, and does it with a very light touch, which provides for fun moments and for touching moments, and fully preserves the complexity of Otto's character and of his drama.
Needless to say, Tom Hanks does an amazing job in the role of Otto and that brings so much added value to the movie. Mariana Treviño, who portrays Marisol, a young woman, mum of three kids, moving to Otto's neighborhood with her family, is also excellent in this movie.
Having this new family in the neighborhood brings changes and a lot of fresh air in Otto's life. While I want to keep this a spoiler-free review, I want to highlight that A Man Called Otto does not only make us reflect on lost love and its consequences, but also on the inestimable value that can be brought to our life by unexpected people in unexpected circumstances at unexpected times. "Can a man be born again, once he is old?" (John 3:4).
Regarding the weaknesses of this movie, they have to do, from my point of view, with some of the side story paths, which are a bit stretched and not as believable as the rest of the movie. The same applies to some of the emotional moments, which don't necessarily bring added value to the story.
More time could have been given to the development of the relationship between Otto and Marisol's family. While we realize that this relationship strongly impacts Otto's path, I had the impression that I could not really witness all the events leading to the developments in Otto's life story, or at least, that some of that moved too fast. In other words, some of these developments don't seem fully justified by what we have seen in terms of characters' exploration. It is a bit of a pity, as other than that, well-developed characters and their intense interactions are a big part of what makes this movie so good.
Touching and enjoyable movie. 7 Stars!
- luca-settembre
- Jun 3, 2024