Hannes Holm directed and wrote the screenplay for A Man Called Ove (Music Box Films), adapted from Fredrik Backman’s international best-selling novel of the same name. The title character, Ove, is the proverbial angry old man. An isolated retiree, highly principled and wound tightly with a short fuse, Ove spends his days enforcing block association rules that only he cares about, and visiting his wife’s grave. Ove has seemingly given up on life until a boisterous young family moves into the neighborhood. From an inauspicious beginning in which the new neighbors accidentally knock over Ove’s mailbox springs an unlikely friendship and we come to understand Ove’s past happiness and heartbreaks. It’s a heartwarming tale which gently reminds us that life is sweeter when it’s shared.
The Swedish film has earned Oscar nominations for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year and Best Achievement in Makeup and Hairstyling (Eva Von Bahr, Love Larson).
