I have only seen two of the five films that were nominated to best foreign language feature film at the Oscars: 'Land of Mine' and 'A man called Ove'. I haven't seen the one that won the Oscar (The Salesman), but I think this one, and Land of Mine, although completely different, had the potential to win.But anyway, this movie is just excellent in every way. The acting was perfect, I think the protagonist did a great job, probably worthy of being nominated for Best Actor. The secondary members of the cast did an excellent job too. I certainly liked how good the characters of Ove and Sonja looked together.And the plot and script never stay behind. The script was spontaneus, true and hilarious; this, along with the plot and the photography, creates a story that perfectly shows how invaluable is to have someone beside you when times are so hard; to have someone who makes you see that life is truly worthwhile and that everything is not lost.10/10. Although I still have to see The Salesman, by now, I think that it was worthy of the Oscar, and of more nominations. Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

This review of A Man Called Ove is spoiler free**** (4/5)SENTIMENT IS A godsend, and to come across them these days is a real miracle that seemingly can't be done, in blockbusters maybe but in Hannes Holm's irresistible adaptation of Fredrik Backman's eponymous bestseller, A Man Called Ove has that and more. Holm gently matches beautiful material, emotional heft, and loving melodrama all in one and it's wonderful. Ove (Rolf Lassgård) is the grumpy man of the block – a 59-year-old retiree, who several years before the film's setting had been kicked out of the Condominium Association, yet he still angrily enforces rules for the isolated community, this turns him into the most hated man on the block. He writes down rules in his handy notepad, stops cars, and refuses to do the simplest tasks. He blames his wife's death on everyone and everything around him; he's always angry, shouting at people and terrifying animals. This perfect characterization comes with a flaw, he's terribly lonely, visiting the grave of recently deceased wife, and he tries to commit suicide. Until new neighbours move in. A young family of four. The young woman of this new family, Parvaneh (Bahar Pars) wants to meet her new neighbour, Ove doesn't want to know. Character-wise Ove is a lot like As Good As It Gets' Melvin Udall, he hates everyone and everything, until someone special takes a hold of his heart – that is Parvaneh and her two children. He starts to get used to her, he teaches her to drive, and he vows to baby-sit. And it's wonderful. Holms' direction is polished to near perfection, he handles Ove's story with fierce hands, there's no heavy touch, the way his camera moves through the community, the cemetery the detail is exquisite. It excels in its redemption tale setting, it's made with love, carefully mixing melodrama with dark comedy and Holm makes it work well. The material used from the novel is used beautifully. There's sympathy for him as visits his wife's grave, and as he wills to commit suicide. He's hilarious too, with his deadpan expression he's hilarious in his behaviour he utters the word idiot to passers-by, he imitates a Chihuahua plus his rivalry with people who own foreign cars is exceptionally funny. And he's emotional, thanks to timely flashbacks that carefully construct his life from the death of his mother, through growing up with his father, to the meeting of his wife, which combined with Lassgård's tour de force performance is a perfect storyteller. A Man Called Ove excels in brilliance, it's an incredibly human comedy which captures true sentiment and fires it like an arrow at your heartstrings; this could be one of the best films of the year by far. VERDICT: Flawless performances help convert this lovable tale onto the silver screen, with excellent execution in true sentiment and emotional heft.

I can't make up my mind about this one's rating. The story provides absolutely nothing that hasn't been seen before. Quite the opposite, you'll only get exactly what you'd expect from a tale about lonely old grumpy man, warming up to his environment. But because it's well done and has charm, I'll add one point to the 6/10, that the script would actually deserve.

Review (1~5)#Content: Script 5 | Acting 5 | Cinematography 5 | Film Editing 5#Visual: Costume Design 4 | Makeup & Hairstyling 3 | Scenic Design 3 | Lighting 4 | Visual Effects 4#Sound: Score & Soundtracks 5 | Sound Editing & Mixing 4#Overall (1~10): 9