THE 100-YEAR-OLD MAN WHO CLIMBED OUT THE WINDOW AND DISAPPEARED

Sweden, 2013, 114 minutes, Colour.
Robert Gustafsson Iwar Wiklander, David Wiberg, Mia Skaringer, Alan Ford.
Directed by Felix Herngren.

This is a title that a customer might have to memorise exactly while going to the box office, especially when this cinema is also screening The Hundred- Foot Journey – even this reviewer, with clarity of diction, was given a ticket for the journey instead of the old man!

The novel has a strong reputation in Scandinavia. And local audiences there have enjoyed the adaptation. For audiences who haven’t read the novel, it probably won’t have the same impact. And the other difficulty would be the particularities of the Scandinavian humour (which another member of the audience stressed that she understood and enjoyed – and it may have been she who chuckled loudly throughout the film).

It is quite a wry story. Which means that it does have its amusing and funny moments, but it was not a hilarious experience.

While there is the contemporary story, the old man, Allan, played by Robert Gustafsson, turning one hundred after he has gone to a residence for the elderly. As they prepare his birthday cake, and recount the candles, he does climb out the window and off he goes. The staff continue to search for him in the residence, the police also pursue him, one being interviewed by the media but, all in all, the film pokes fun at the ineptitude of the officers.

With a limited amount of money in his pocket, he buys a ticket to a small town – but an angry young man demands Allan look after his suitcase while goes into the toilet. But the bus arrives and so off Allan goes with the suitcase – which is the major development of the plot as criminals pursue him in Sweden, with orders by phone from their boss who lives in Bali. The case was full of money.

In the meantime, Allan has made friends with Julius and is introduced to a couple who are involved in a circus and caring for an elephant. There are some elephant jokes, a morbid one when one of the criminals looking for the money is crushed by the elephant. Another criminal is transported to Djibouti where he is killed by suicide bomber. It is that kind of film. Meanwhile, Alan is quite carefree and enjoying his liberty.

All this might have been amusing but there are various flashbacks to Alan’s life and his fascination with explosives. He is also preoccupied with screams, telling of his mother screaming when he was born, that he probably screamed back, that he screamed at his violent father, that he was put into an institution. That might have been enough but, in fact, he goes to Spain, encounters General Franco (very critical of his way of dancing, too feminine), is given the gift of a gun, then finds himself working on a skyscraper in Manhattan where he hears about the Manhattan Project and explosions and goes off to New Mexico where he meets Robert Oppenheimer and gives various theories for the successful exploding of the atomic bomb and is congratulated.

He is then recruited for the Soviet Union by a scientist, encountering Stalin but offending him and relegated to a gulag along with Herbert Einstein, who is the exact opposite, mentally, of his famous brother. After an explosion destroys the Pacific Fleet – which is the death of Stalin - he is in Paris in 1968, is in Washington DC in 1981, talking with President Reagan whose directions about a wall in his garden are taped and listened to by Gorbachev where they interpreted as a hostility towards communism. Unfortunately, this line of flashbacks just peters out. It would have been interesting to bring this train of storytelling to some conclusion, but no.

Back to the present, a gift of a flight to Bali, some more accidents and happy ever after (for however long) for Allan after his birthday.

1. The popularity of the original novel? The film adaptation? Swedish and Scandinavian background? The local audiences? The world audiences? The particularities of Swedish?

2. The Swedish perspective, life, characters, situations? Comedy? Message?

3. The Swedish locations, the variety, the contrast with Bali? The musical score?

4. Allan and his reaching 100, his situation, the hostel, life there, the celebration of his birthday, the cake, the candles? The woman recounting the candles? His reaction to the hostel, his decision to leave, getting out the window, the ticket at the station, the limited destination because of his money?

5. His voice-over in English? The Swedish dialogue? His past story, the insertion of the episodes, the boy with the fireworks screaming, his comment about screams in his life: his mother screaming at birth, his screaming back, as a young boy, his father and his violence, father building his territory and its collapsing, shot? The gift of the Russian dolls and Allan exploding them? The Fabergé egg? The decision about his mental health, going to the asylum, many years? His getting out, finding himself in Spain, the encounter with General Franco, helping him, his comments on Franco’s feminine way of dancing, the gift of the gun? His going to New York City, work in Manhattan, on the girders? His going to the Manhattan Project, meeting Oppenheimer, the tests, his theories, explanations and congratulations? The encounter with Popov, his going to the Soviet Union? Stalin, the panel, the drinking, the Russian dancing? Meeting Herbert Einstein and his mental limitations? Going to the gulag, The year-long attempt to get Einstein to remember the plan for escape? The explosions, the destruction of the Pacific Fleet? Stalin’s collapse and death? Allan in France, 1968, the costume party, seeing the translator, his fleeing from the authorities? Popov and his son, the later friendship? Ronald Reagan, the walk in the garden, his advice to the gardener about the wall, this being recorded, Gorbachev and his interpretation? Their not being any follow-up to these historical episodes?

6. Allan, his ticket, the man giving him the case, his carrying it onto the bus, the chat with Julius, the bus station? Julius and the friendship? Touch of the inept? The police and their interventions, and nervous policeman and his media interview, the boss and his continually giving orders while the other policeman has Allan and everyone, including the elephant, in sight? The criminals, wanting the money back, the boss in Bali, the local crooks? Julius, his friend and the woman, home, looking after the elephant? Allan taking life easily, going for a swing? In the meantime everybody searching for him? The criminal’s encounter with the elephant, his being crushed? The other man and his being transported to Djibouti and his death from the suicide bomber? The local criminal, the phone calls to Bali, the pursuit, the crash, his brain damage?

7. Popov’s, the phone call, the gift for the birthday, wanting to go to Bali, the plane?

8. The boss in Bali, his angers, way of life, demands? Getting in the car to get the money? And his being killed in a crash?

9. The combination of a contemporary story with all the flashbacks? A wry film?