A Man Called Otto Showtimes Near Seaside Cinema (2024)

FAQs

Is Otto autistic in the movie? ›

Based on the Swedish film A Man Called Ove, this film provides an excellent portrayal of a protagonist who exhibits signs of autism in terms of his specialized interests, exacting mannerisms, and social difficulties.

Synopsis Based on the comical and moving New York Times bestseller, A Man Called Otto tells the story of Otto Anderson (Tom Hanks), a grumpy widower whose only joy comes from criticizing and judging his exasperated neighbors.

Summaries. Otto is a grump who's given up on life following the loss of his wife and wants to end it all. When a young family moves in nearby, he meets his match in quick-witted Marisol, leading to a friendship that will turn his world around.

Otto's wife has died, leaving his life without meaning, so he has decided to kill himself. We see him set up the house to protect the decor from gore when he does the self-offing. But later we learn he has been told he is not long for this world for ordinary health reasons. He's going to die anyway.

The film never delves deeply into his mental health, though he is definitely suffering from depression following the passing of his wife and probably has either OCD or something close to it. It does dwell on his physical health – namely a heart condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can cause symptoms like shortness of breath, arrhythmias, fainting, and even chest pain. This is what Otto struggles with throughout the film, and it's his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that ultimately leads to his death.

While it may seem like it could be about real-life events, A Man Called Otto isn't actually a true story, nor is it even based on one. The film is actually a remake of a 2015 Swedish movie called A Man Called Ove, directed by Hannes Holm and starring Rolf Lassgård as its grouchy protagonist.

The main messages from A Man Called Otto are that even when everything looks desperate there's still hope, and we can find new meaning to life if we look for it. Values in A Man Called Otto that you could reinforce with your children include persistence, kindness and hope.

Both Rune and Reuben have Alzheimer's but Reuben is depicted as paralyzed and in a wheelchair. Otto still doesn't seem to have forgiven Reuben for being a Ford man instead of a loyal Chrysler customer. To make matters even more unforgivable, Reuben buys a Toyota! The “coup” still looms large in Otto's memory as well.

Tom Hanks' Son Truman Plays the Younger Version of Otto

Despite being the son of two legendary film stars in the form of Hanks and his mother Rita Wilson, the younger Hanks never displayed an interest in acting up until his role in A Man Called Otto.

Is Otto a happy movie? ›

A Man Called Otto is sometimes funny, sometimes sad, sometimes heartwarming, but never surprising. It does make me wonder how this film would come off with a few changes. As great as Tom Hanks is, in general we know he is a nice guy, so we are just waiting for him to break and become exactly that.

He prepares to commit suicide by shotgun, remembering the bus crash on a romantic trip to Niagara Falls that caused a pregnant Sonya to lose her baby and become a paraplegic.

We're forced to relive his glory days through copious flashbacks, but what's clear to me, just as in every present-day scene, is that Otto is an emotionally stunted, possibly autistic man tolerated by loved ones and coworkers until they die or can no longer bear him.

Life is too hard for us to do by ourselves. We need support from family, friends and neighbors to get through hard times and to bring joy to our lives. No matter where we live and what we do in life, we are part of a community. And reaching out to each other is what helps us get through life.

The film opens six months after Otto's cherished wife Sonya (Rachel Keller) has died of cancer. In flashbacks, we learn how Sonya and Otto met, all they loved about each other, and the horrific crisis they faced together.

While it is not the primary focus of the movie, the main character, Otto, just happens to have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM).

When he attempts suicide, the noose collapses from the ceiling, so he visits Sonya's grave, and has flashbacks to their past: as a young man, he was rejected from the army due to his hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and met Sonya on a train, where she lent him a 1964 silver quarter he has kept ever since.

The movie's subplot is that Otto also has obsessive-compulsive disorder — OCD. He established a daily routine that benefits his neighbors to compensate for the disorder. Otto is the ad-hoc overseer of safety and security on his block of townhouses.

A Man Called Otto Changes Were Due To Setting

In the original movie, Ove resided in Sweden, whereas Otto lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Given the circ*mstances of the remake's new location, it makes sense that Ove's name was changed to Otto, who is Ove's American counterpart.