Spoiler Alert!
Read at your own risk :)
A Man Called Ove (Original title in Swedish: En man som heter Ove) is a movie about a grumpy old man and the funny yet strange occurrences that happens to him as he so desperately tries to end his life.
I've been meaning to read the book, but it's currently sitting at my parent's home thousands of miles away, so decided to watch the movie instead. I really enjoy watching films and seeing what aspects I can extract from them so I can learn more about myself and life.
Here I am going to break down the movie into certain themes and patterns and talk about them, using my own perspective and insights:
Life saying ''nope it's not your time yet.''
I truly believe we all have our time - meaning, when our time comes (to pass away), it comes, and it'll be specific / within ''divine timing.'' So I found it intriguing that something would interrupt Ove when he would attempt suicide - and it would always be some sort of life circumstance that he would respond to, showing to us that deep down he chooses life / helping others. This made me look at how many times we respond from things and situations out of our hearts - not coming from any point of guilt, but genuine interest in helping another. Despite Ove being grumpy and calling everyone an ''idiot,'' there were many instances in the movie where he moved his self-interest aside to help his fellow man.
Life Should Not be Lived in Isolation...Actually it Cannot
Ove - as much as he wanted to be left alone - the universe wouldn't let him. People like the new family that lived next door needed to borrow his ladder or they needed him to chaperone his children. A fluffy cat would constantly visit (and bother him), a teenager sought shelter through him, and more. These people actually enriched Ove's life, and were a point of stability and support for him.
To see him go to sleep alone at night made me think about all the other lonely elder folk out there in the world who go to bed alone in a quiet house. I say, we humans are born to live and exist in communities, and Ove and the people he interacted with became a part of his life / community. Plus, the cat he adopted became a new family member. I find pets to be a healthy and nourishing addition to families (someday, when I have the money and space I will buy 2 kittens!).
The Unique Relationship with His Wife
It was so sweet how Ove and his wife Sonja had their own special way of holding hands. It reminded me of my relationship with my husband - where we have our own little quirks that defines our relationship and make it special.
My friend @sunettespies introduced me to the concept of creating and developing your own unique relationship with your partner - to stop looking ''out there'' and look at what is here, with what you have with your loved one, and develop something special between the both of you. Therefore, I found it super sweet how Ove and Sonja had their own knack and ways of expressing themselves in the partnership.
One Drop of Competition Destroys an Entire Friendship
It was so fascinating to see the relationship between Ove and Rune develop and yet get diminished because of one point of judgement. It was about cars. Ove judged the character of his friend Rune based on the type of car he drove, and because of that judgement, it seeped into their friendship and basically they fell out of touch and eventually Rune backstabbed Ove. It's incredible how fast a friendship can end - and I am one to speak - I've been partly responsible for certain friendships to end poorly due to points of competition, jealousy, and fears so I found this relationship-dynamic between Ove and Rune relatable.
There's More to a Person Than What You See
The movie, especially in the beginning portrays Ove as this grumpy, over-compulsive man who seems to hate other people, but the more we get insight into his life and past, the more we understand why he is the way he is.
I find one of the saddest things in the world is that we are so quick to judge and define a person based on their mistakes, actions or non-actions instead of getting to understand them, and learn about why they did what they did. People can get excluded from social groups, and communities for being different or not like the norm, but all it takes is some patience and understanding - walking with that person in seeing who they are and working on solutions with them. I enjoyed how the movie would show snippets of what Ove went through in life that shaped who he eventually became as an old man. This allowed us as the audience to relate and ''feel'' more for the character.
Conclusion
Overall, I found A Man Called Ove to be such a well made film - the characters and cinematography are excellent and eye-catching. Something about the way the characters move and act is refreshing (perhaps it's the Swedish culture and their honesty and no bs-attitude?). Plus, I cried a lot during the film --there were many touching moments and scenes that moved me. I would highly recommend this movie!
More Information on the Movie:
IMDB - A Man Called Ove
More Information on Relationships:
Self & Living on YouTube