Movie Review: A Man Called Otto

There’s no substance use in A Man Called Otto.

The 2022 American comedy-drama film A Man Called Otto, is about a bitter elderly man (played by actor Tom Hanks) who reluctantly gets involved in his neighbors’ lives. It is a remake of the Swedish movie A Man Called Ove from 2015, which was based on Fredrik Backman’s novel from 2012.

Otto’s story gives each and every one of us a reminder of how to heal, hold on to our loved ones, and find perfection in our mistakes. By the end, the bringing together of the community from Otto’s work turns him into the most loveable character of the film. Personally, I saw myself connecting deeply with following Otto’s story as he found home not as a physical building, but in his friends. “A Man Called Otto” is a thoughtful and heartwarming story that will make you laugh, cry, and rethink about what it means to live.

Image courtesy of Cinema 1 Plus

A Man Called Otto subtly and intelligently touches on so many themes in US society but trying to keep it relevant for the Medium community, these were the ones I wanted to focus on:

There’s no nudity and sexual activity in A Man Called Otto.

As he dangled from the ceiling, Otto’s life flashed before his eyes. He recalls earlier memories of the time he met his wife Sonya by chance after she dropped a book at a train station. A younger Otto, who couldn’t afford to pay for his train ticket, was given money by Sonya to pay the conductor. She had given him one quarter too many; a quarter he kept all his life. As Otto’s flashback ends, the rope snaps and he falls to the floor, unsuccessful in his attempt to kill himself. He is next seen sitting in a cemetery making conversation to his wife’s grave, lamenting his wish to be with her.

Recently I had the opportunity to watch A Man Called Otto, a heartwarming comedy-drama starring Tom Hanks as Otto, a grumpy and bitter retiree who routinely insults his neighbors and enforces the traffic rules of his condominium neighborhood until he is befriended by an immigrant family that moves in next door. Based on the Swedish film A Man Called Ove, this film provides an excellent portrayal of a protagonist who exhibits signs of autism in terms of his specialized interests, exacting mannerisms, and social difficulties. Considering this, I felt that A Man Called Otto would be a noteworthy topic for a film review.

The film opens by introducing Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a senior citizen who has recently retired from his long-term career at a local steel company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He displays a grumpy and hostile attitude toward everyone he encounters, including his coworkers despite their attempts to give him a cheerful going-away party, which he dismisses as pointless. In addition, he exhibits a very literal mindset toward rules, regulations, and prices; this brings him into conflict with the staff at a local hardware store when he seeks to buy a certain length of rope but is charged a higher price for the whole rope. Infuriated, he demands to speak to the store manager, arguing that he should only have to pay for the length of rope that he requested, but when the manager fails to comply with Otto’s request, he insults the staff members, calling them “idiots” and “nitwits” before leaving the store.

Hey, guess what? I stumbled upon this movie called ‘A Man Called Otto’ while scrolling through Facebook yesterday. People were raving about how awesome it is! So, today I got to Double Tree Hilton in Penang early for my talk on Embracing IR4.0 and Digitalisation tomorrow. I thought, why not check out this movie on Netflix?

A Man Called Otto is currently available to stream on Netflix

A series of flashbacks to Otto’s younger days with Sonya deeply embeds the viewer into the wounds that caused him to be so bitter. Sonya was his world, and her death crippled his spirit in the same way the bus accident crippled her legs. It’s hard not to feel the massive hole in Otto’s heart as the film advances. He longs for the love of his wife and fails to see that love as universal in the world around him. The genius of this movie is its ability to highlight the aching deep within the soul that causes us to lash out in sin. Behind every deformed heart is a series of wounds. Every heart longs to love and be loved but tragically collapses in on itself when blinded to the source of love itself. All you can love is yourself when you wall yourself off to the outside, which as Otto’s character demonstrates, really is no love at all.

A Man Called Otto heads to Blu-ray and DVD on March 14.

A Man Called Otto could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues like loneliness, mental health and suicide, including how to look after your mental health and where to go for help and support.

Title – A Man Called Otto (2022)

Otto’s character traits are highly emblematic of autism since autistic people tend to have very literal thought patterns toward everything, which is exemplified by Otto’s argument with the staff at the hardware store over his rope purchase. This also fits in with the tendency among autistic individuals to follow very strict routines since they show a strong preference for a structured and orderly environment, which Otto demonstrates through his petty enforcement of neighborhood policies. Furthermore, his social ineptitude is reflective of the challenges that many autistic individuals have with social interaction since they often struggle with observing proper social etiquette and grasping common social cues. In Otto’s case, this is taken to an extreme level through his hostile and belligerent attitude toward everyone.

Twitter Handles: #AManCalledOtto.

Before we get started, let’s talk about the elephant in the room: the title itself. When I found out that the title of the American adaptation was going to be called A Man Called Otto, I wondered why. And then, I realized that the change was made to reach a wider audience than the original did, especially if they didn’t like the presence of subtitles. As much as I, as well as other readers, would rather have the same title as the source material and the first film, let’s face it, you would be hard pressed to find non-Scandanavian people who could pronounce Ove correctly (again, it’s pronounced oo-veh). In fact, there’s a running gag through the film, in which Otto tells the people he meets his name, and they comment on how odd it is. It almost makes me wonder if they were going to have him called Ove in the earlier stages of development.