A Man Called Ove (2015)

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Makeup and Hair    I have to hand it to the Swedish.  They have turned out some really good dark comedies the last couple of years.  Granted, my knowledge of Swedish national cinema begins and ends with Ingmar Bergman so I'm not any kind of expert.

Ove (Rolf Lassgaard) is a cantankerous old widower and car snob who finds purpose in tallying up the most minor transgressions of his neighbors.  After he is let go from his job of 43 years, he decides to kill himself in order to rejoin his beloved wife, Sonja (Ida Engvall), but is interrupted by the arrival of his new neighbor, Parvaneh (Bahar Pars), an Iranian immigrant and her Swedish husband, Patrick (Tobias Almborg).  After bonding over the fact that Patrick is kind of an idiot, Ove slowly begins to allow Parvaneh to know his story.

This reminded me of Gran Torino when I was reading the synopsis, but aside from the basic "crusty old man learns to love other people again," the two films couldn't be further apart.  Partly because Clint Eastwood would rather be dead than caught driving a Saab, but also because A Man Called Ove is much more focused on community and finding a place for everyone in it.

I have no idea what its chances are in the Best Foreign Film category.  It's up against some seriously heavy hitters and the last time Sweden won was 1983.  That makes for some long odds.  (Plus, I haven't seen any of the rest of them yet.)  I don't think it has a shot in Best Makeup and Hair, either.  Usually, the Academy goes gaga over age makeup but I don't know that it was enough of a contrast this time.  Plus, it's up against two films with very heavy use of prosthetics and makeup effects (Star Trek Beyond and Suicide Squad).  If it did win, it would be a huge upset.