‘A Man Called Otto‘, Marc Forster‘s 2022 production, is a remake of a Swedish film I haven’t seen (yet), which seems to have been very good according to the ratings and comments posted by those who watched it. The American production has all the chances to enter the (not very numerous) category of those remakes that manage to come close or even surpass the originals. Although it belongs to a cinematic genre (family melodrama dealing with loneliness) that is not part of my comfort zone – precisely because they are too comfortable – I enjoyed the film. I can even say that I was surprised by how much I liked it. For director Marc Forster, it’s a change of tone, as he used us with much more dramatic and sometimes more controversial films. His talent and professionalism and the acting performance of Tom Hanks in the lead role make this film not only an expected success, but also a film with indisputable cinematic qualities.
We meet the hero of the film, Otto Anderson, on the day of his retirement. Having crossed this threshold, I can confirm that what for some is the beginning of a new phase of life, free from constraints and schedules imposed by others, is for others a nightmare. Otto belongs to this second category, he is fanatically orderly, he loves routine. Most of the film’s story takes place on a street with about ten houses, which the tenants try, legally and in vain, to close to traffic in order to transform it into their own space. It had once been located on the outskirts of the city, near a forest. Now the surrounding constructions erected by the real estate companies sharks are suffocating it and they are trying to take over. Desperate and alone, Otto, on his retirement day, will take out the garbage and place each piece it in the appropriate recycling bins, cancel the contract and orderly disconnect the electricity to his house, and try to end his life. We will gradually learn about the story of his loneliness. The first suicide attempt (there will be a few!) is interrupted by the intrusion of a family of new neighbors on the street, a couple of recent immigrants from Latin America with two children and another one on the way. Will Otto find his zest for life? This man whose vocabulary seems to lack words like ‘please’ and ‘thank you’, always ready to help but intolerant of hypocrisy, stupidity or even clumsiness, will find ways to communicate with the new neighbors and reconnect with the old ones ? Will he smile by the end of the movie?
You might have guessed where the plot goes, though I’ve avoided giving away details beyond what can be seen in the first few minutes of the story. ‘A Man Called Otto‘ is one of those feel-good movies that squeezes out a lot of tears until the viewers end up feeling good. The script can be criticized for a dose of schematism and predictability, as well as the fact that the characters seem to be chosen to comply with the diversity norms of today’s Hollywood. But all these are overshadowed by the sensitivity, discretion and humor with which difficult issues are approached, such as facing loneliness after the loss of a loved one, fighting age that advances mercilessly, or breaking cultural barriers in a community where immigrants try to integrate. The solutions offered are perhaps easy, but the superb acting of Tom Hanks, Mariana Treviño and the entire team of actors manages to convince and move. The problems faced by the characters in ‘A Man Called Otto‘ are, in part at least, not unknown to me, but the effect that this film had on me, and that it probably had or will have on many other viewers, I believe comes from much deeper .