A Man Called Otto is an emotional rollercoaster, but the ride is definitely worth it. This movie by David Magee, Fredrick Backman, and Hannes Holm is sad and dramatic, but there is a lot of comedy within. Based on the book and film, A Man Called Ove, both stories teach us how to move on and get over grief. 

Tom Hanks does an amazing job as the main character, Otto, who is a grumpy old man who struggles with grief and can’t move on from the death of his wife; Sonya, played by Rachel Keller. He attempts to join her many times, but it always ends up not working. He thinks it’s what Sonya would want him to do, but he soon realizes that he was reading the wrong signals. 

Otto doesn’t like people and isn’t afraid to show it. If something is out of line, he is the first to put it back in place and find the one to blame. He wants to keep his neighborhood in order, so he puts in very strict rules and has a system of keeping them in place.

Although Otto is very mean and controlling, his new neighbors, Marisol (Mariana Trevino)  and Tommy (Manuel Garcia-Rulfo) see the best in him and want to help him find happiness despite his situation. Otto is a very hard man to deal with, but Marisol is relentless, and her family ends up becoming a ray of sunshine in Otto’s life. 

Marisol helps Otto with his grief and helps him become a better and happier person. He becomes a part of Marisol’s Family and is able to realize that his wife wants him to live, not die. 

A Man Called Otto isn’t recommended to younger audiences, and it is definitely not a family movie, but it is a very good movie for a more mature audience. This touching story about community, grief, and finding your purpose is very inspiring, and the writers and actors/actresses did an amazing job at putting it together.