Have you ever wanted to see Forest Gump directed by the Coen Brother's if they were Swedish? If you said yes then Felix Herngren has just the film for you! Based on the Jonas Jonasson novel of the same name (actually the name is in Swedish but you get the point) and starring Robert Gustafsson as the hundred-year-old man himself Allan Karlsson. Now I actually came across this film because a friend of mine had a pass to a press screening and couldn't make it so they gave it to me so I was coming into this movie completely blind which hasn't happened for quite a while.
The film follows Allan Karlsson as he decides to leave his retirement home on his 100th birthday and go for an adventure. In the process he accidentally comes into the possession of a suitcase full of money and must run away from a rather incompetent biker gang while making new friends in the process. This is all paralleled by his life before getting old which involved dynamite, the Spanish revolution, working on The Manhattan project, accidentally becoming a spy and much more. Like I said it's a rather absurd Forrest Gump with the schmaltz replaced with heaps of black comedy.
Robert Gustaffsson gives quite a fantastic performance as Allan Karlsson especially since half of the time he's playing twice his age. Now the reason for having a younger actor is because Gustaffon plays Allan at various stages of his life; make up is used to make him younger and older and it's actually pretty good though the digital cinematography makes it easier to tell then if it was shot on film. The rest of the cast is solid ad quite amusing though quite a few of them are just playing stereotypes. The script is rather smart and witty and though on the surface it seems rather slight, when I thought about it it actually had a few more layers.
The character of Allan Karlsson is incredibly passive and neutral with his interactions with people; he doesn't really think for himself or aims to get into conflict. Allan can be seen as a metaphor for Sweden, especially when you consider the historical events in the film. Sweden has been a rather neutral country regarding the events the film covers and is shown through Allan's interactions with the situations. I didn't think about this after seeing it at first but after reading more about it, it became a lot more apparent.
The film itself is very well made. The cinematography is quite nice though I think it would have been even better if shot on film (though I'm sure budget was a factor). The score is really playful and almost ironic especially regarding the situations and tone of the film. It's also just a whole lot of fun; I really had no idea what to expect with this film but I'm really glad that I saw it because I had really good time. If you don't mind foreign films and enjoy black comedies then I'd definitely recommend this film for you.
3 1/2 (almost 4) out of 5 stars.
Let me know your thoughts below.
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