"A Somewhat Gentle Man" is a story that took me by surprise. While it is very slow-paced and deliberate, I thought this meant the film would be pretty dull. On the contrary...it turned out to be a really neat character study and is well worth seeing.Ulrik (Stellan Skarsgård) has served 12 years in prison for murder. And, the prison folks seem to think he hasn't yet learned his lesson. The viewer isn't sure as well...mostly because Ulrik is a very quiet and subdued man...and what's boiling inside is uncertain. Through the course of the movie you come to actually like the guy and appreciate the many choices he has to make...especially whether to kill the stoolie who sent him to prison!I enjoyed seeing the evolution of the character. And, I appreciate that he did grow and change...but still was true to his original character. How all this transpires, you'll have to see for yourself in this quiet but captivating movie.By the way, this film is a bit adult...with some nudity, sexual situations and a bit of violence.

I think this movie was made to be entertaining, not to shed a light on some boring ass subject, like a lot of Norwegian movies. It's part of the new wave of Norwegian movies, that dare to be entertaining, first and foremost. Instead of being serious or artsy, or like a play. It is sort of, very typical Norwegian, at the same time it's not.En Ganske Snill Mann is a mellow, quirky, quite entertaining little thing. It has a lot of silence, which is rather pleasant. Also has some embarrassing, awkward parts.It has some interesting and strange characters, like Bjørn Flobergs character and his gang, they are weird and fun to watch. Stellan Skarsgård himself is also great, of course. I always like seeing Nordic actors with many English-speaking roles under their belt, speaking their native language. Swedish is also such a fun language.There's some action in here, rather light, but some. There is one violent scene in particular that is really cool. The build up is great, very nicely done.

This is definitely a different kind of movie. At first I couldn't quite swallow it. Like one of those wired Frennch delicacies that taste so unexpectedly you can't decide whether to chew on or drop them out of your mouth. Yet, if you resist a bit further for your mouth and brain to accommodate, you find that the experience was one so rich and subtle it lingers on your senses for days.There's not the least bit of glamor or pretence in this movie. The plot seem to develop rather too slowly, the dialogues do not have the sparkle which tingles the intellect and makes you feel smarter, the people are not handsome but slightly old, worn out, ordinary people and the sex scenes are stripped of magic, eroticism and, well, desire. Nevertheless, behind it all there's this gentleness, humour and a kind of sadness almost heartbreaking. Each character has a history of abandonment, abuse, absence of love behind them, which sort of handicaps the way they connect to other people, makes their words and gestures rather abrupt, apparently lacking emotion. And there's this "gentle man", a former cold blooded murderer, who can see their despondency and incidentally tries to give them a bit of what they need. In doing so, he attempts to shut a door on his bleak past. And it's not because he wants to be a new better man, but because he can no longer be the man that he was. He simply needs to be the father and the lover he was refused for many years, he needs to have an ordinary life. "Spring is coming", his reply at the end of the movie, and the small contemplative smile it's a welcome addressed to a life of better choices and the relief after just killing the last "shadow" of his past. Now I can tell no more without spoiling the movie, but I highly recommend it. Also, I recommend that you be patient. Even if you can't enjoy it from the very first, see it through. It will worth your while. I give this movie a 9 out of 10.

Stellan Skarsgard has seldom been better than in this rather ho-hum tragicomedy which strives for laconic existentialism Kaurismäki-style, but settles for just slightly above average amusement in the end.The first half provides some solid chuckles, but all the likable character portraits on display lack subtlety. Later on, the narrative grows repetitive and some scenes feel forced.But the pic's worth a look and it is still preferable to those hyperactive gangster movies that guys like Guy Ritchie are churning out.6 out of 10 love-hungry landladies