Marc Israel
Allan Karlsson is a 100 year old man who ditches his nursing home birthday party by simply going out the first floor window and wandering off.... So many thoughts all came out in this 114 minute, dare I say, journey, or even traveling circus. The music would back t hat up! You could focus on the lead character, Allan, whose inhibitions match his inability to make good days to day decisions, hence the title. You could compare the good natured clan that grows one by one to that of The Wizard Of Oz, or the insertion of our leads characters' history to that of the lovable simpleton, Forrest Gump, with his inner lion into historical events. There is certainly a "road trip" approach to the screen play which only adds to the farce as our crew is an odd-ball miss mash of bland Swedish Meatballs, and all mixed together made for a delightful yet hilarious black comedy. There are some simple things to take out of the movie as well, but not life affirming, just simplifying, like Allan.
Jackson Booth-Millard
This is probably one of the longest film titles I know, but it clearly tells you what to expect, I mainly took notice of this Swedish when it was nominated at the Academy Awards, I hoped for something interesting. Basically Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) has lived a long and colourful life, he finds himself stuck in a nursing home, seemingly his last stop, but Allan is still in good health, and he is not keen to celebrate his 100th birthday. So Allan decides to climb out of the window and disappear, for most people this would be the adventure of a lifetime, but this unexpected journey is not his first, he has already experienced so much in his lifetime. Allan finds himself getting into a strange situation where he has unintentionally stolen a traveller's luggage bag, it is full of thousands, if not millions, in drug money, along with some people he meets on his journey, with no determined final destination, he continues travelling to find something to do with this newfound fortune, with criminals hot on his trail. The film has many flashbacks seeing Allan as a child, where he gained a love for blowing things up, and we see him grow up into a man who continues this hobby, using it as a career, and getting in many interesting situations and meeting many interesting characters, as well historical figures along the way. Also starring Iwar Wiklander as Julius Jonsson, David Wiberg as Benny, Mia Skäringer as Gunilla, Jens Hultén as The Boss, Alan Ford as Pim, Ralph Carlsson as Chief Inspector Aronsson, Bianca Cruzeiro as Caracas, Sven Lönn as Bucket, David Shackleton as Herbert Einstein (Albert's brother); Tumba, Sonja and Thnog Suk as Sonja the Elephant, Pernilla Göst as Allan's Mother, Ola Björkman as Allan's Father, Kerry Shale as Harry S. Truman, Donald Högberg as Professor Lundborg, Algirdas Paulavicius as Josef Stalin, Sigitas Rackys as Gorbachev and Keith Chanter as Ronald Reagan. Gustafsson is likable as the very old man who goes through a number of adventures until reaching his tenth decade and proving that you're never too old to have another big adventure, I can see the comparison to Forrest Gump, where the leading character by chance enters many historical events and comes across significant people along the way, but it is not as cleverly done, this does have some nice and atmospheric moments, you do go along slightly with the story both in flashbacks and present day, and you cannot deny the makeup and hair to create ageing is fantastic, but it is not quite funny or enjoyable as other similar films, a fair and reasonable comedy drama. It was nominated the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling. Okay!
Robert W.
I remember reading the back of the book this was based on awhile ago and thinking how great this sounded. I never got around to reading it and when I spied this movie based on it, I was overjoyed!! I didn't even know this has been made. The film does not disappoint. It is a fun, fast paced, ridiculous adventure not unlike a more subtle Forrest Gump and with a little less serious tone. There are some life lessons here to be learnt but its not specifically trying to teach us anything. It is just trying to have a good time so sit back and relax and laugh at the often disturbing dark humour and hilarious comedy of errs. This has all the earmarks and feel of a classic satire and the cast is so fantastic. I think with a slightly higher budget it could have been even better but they do a great job with what they're given. If you're not a fan of foreign films, don't balk at this because much of it is in English and the dialogue and script is brilliant. There are some incredibly memorable moments and lines and a crazy cast of characters that won't seen be forgotten. I will forever remember Allan Karlsson saying "if you want to kill me, you better hurry, I'm 100 years old." Robert Gustafsson is absolute perfect. First of all the make up job they do on him as the 100 year old is amazing and he perfectly manages to play Allan across many, many decades and is believable. Its nice not to have different actors playing the same role to make youth believable. Allan is simple minded in some ways and just has this distinctive "I don't care/roll with the punches attitude" that doesn't change and makes him incredibly hilarious and fun. Iwar Wiklander is fantastic as Allan's partner in crime so to speak. His character is a little underdeveloped but they have great chemistry and he has some truly terrific moments. David Wiberg is also really great as the metaphorically lost guy looking for the meaning of life. Wiberg's character is the perfect balance to the other characters. Mia Skäringer plays the reluctant female drawn into the men's crazy adventure and falls for Wiberg. Being one of the only females in the film she holds her own and has some great moments of her own. Jens Hultén is one of my favourite characters especially following his amnesia and he plays a great part too. Alan Ford adds a needed part of the villain to the story and while he has very little screen time or development, he does it well.This really is the definition of ensemble cast. Foreign films are often this way but everyone works together to make you laugh, smile, be shocked and just go along for the ride. Elephant shot in the butt? Stolen mobster money? A detective chasing them all across country? Budding romance? A 100 Year old man that just wants to be left alone? This is just simply fun. You can turn this on, sit back and have a great time. This honestly should do wonders for director Felix Herngren's career because he handles the film well, tells an incredible story and holds it all together flawlessly. If you're looking for something different but fun and entertaining you found it here!! Check this one out!! 8/10
