THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT OF THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED
Director: Felix Herngren
Cert: 15. 114 mins
While the title acts as a starting point for the film, and hints at its quirkiness, there’s more to it than that.
Centenarian Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) escapes his old people’s home, acquires a mysterious suitcase, is pursued by gangsters bent on retrieving it, and bumps into assorted characters along the way, as his remarkable long life is revealed in flashbacks.
It's somewhat similar to Forrest Gump, with a naïve character bumbling his way through key historical events and having an inadvertent yet significant impact on them. The film’s worldview is a curious one: essentially that life is random and unpredictable, so the best thing to do is not to think too much, and just see where life takes you.
The main character arguably borders on sociopathically naïve, in terms of the deaths indirectly linked to his actions, and the film lacks the necessary perspective on life and history framed by a proper understanding of good and evil. It nonetheless makes the point that worry, impatience, insecurity or threats of violence are not the best way to live life, because at least there’s a funny side.
These positive lessons naturally make much more sense if seen in a Christian context, with God's sovereignty providing a reassuring reminder that all things work together for good.
The film has a dark sense of humour, though played lightly for surreal comedy. There are several scenes of characters relieving themselves, and there’s a moderate amount of bad language.
