The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared
Preconceptions of film have often lent themselves to people missing out on treats such as this one. After all, apart from those who openly know that it is a book, who seriously goes into the cinema to watch a film title as long as the movie itself? Chalk it up to either clever or bad marketing, but The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared doesn’t excite, let alone ensnare. Even I dismissed it first hand, a long list of movies that I had to watch, rather than something I wanted to. Which was clearly wrong, stupid and idiotic of me because for want of a better word, this movie is incredible.
The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window And Disappeared (I’m aptly going to shorten that down to The 100 Year Old Man) Revolves around Allan Karlsson. About to celebrate his hundredth birthday inside a retirement home, Allan decides he has had enough and climbs out of the window to seek adventure. At a bus terminal, he is saddled with a suitcase thanks to a rude punkish young man, only to take it with him when trying to catch his bus. It turns out that it is a suitcase full of drug money and soon Allan becomes unwillingly involved in a heist.
Juxtaposing against his life story, The 100 Year Old Man is, quite rightly, the mischievous cousin to Forrest Gump. Allan, played superbly well by Robert Gustafsson, is a character you instantaneously love. Balancing between wisdom and childish antics perfectly, Allan is a character we all want to be. He, quite frankly, doesn’t give a shit and just wants to blow things up. Bumbling along both as adult and youthful Allan, Gustafsson is so earnestly compelling to watch that you follow his crazed life and all the adventures he did. Hysterically, he is mayhem and Gustafsson is so brilliantly in his portrayal that it is impossible not to adore him.
And the adventure is completely insane yet real. The knock on effect of Allen’s accidental theft eventually ropes in a collection of participants that are both enthusiastic and disinclined to participate in the crime. Whilst being hunted down by drug dealers, the moments increase in their wackiness and the rambunctious collection of hysterical characters will leave your ribs quaking with delight. As we see Allan’s participant in crucial wars up until an elephant in Sweden, each second is a treat to devour with juvenile glee.
As the summer roles in, and blockbuster punctuate Oscar fodder, the lacklustre collection of innovative cinema almost repulses people away from the film houses. If there was something to perforate this humdrum madness, it is this one. Feeling much more akin to classic comedies of Laurel & Hardy or the Marx Brothers, this is a wildly enjoyably fare. Director Felix Herngren has adequately adapted a best-selling book into a masterpiece that has a genuine heart pulsating in amidst the fun. As it bounces delectably on screen, you cannot help but be equally excitable after first watch. It’s a must see for everyone, with possible one of the most uproarious endings of recent times.
TTFN
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