A MAN CALLED OVE
A tender, troubled portrait of grief, community, and choosing life.
Should You Watch It?
A MAN CALLED OVE is a warm, witty character study about grief, loneliness, and the surprising ways a community can keep someone alive. Its heart is in the right place. The film encourages viewers to hope that Ove will choose life rather than die, and it draws on moral principles such as loving your neighbor and putting others before yourself.
The movie also asks you to sit through repeated suicide attempts, including hanging, asphyxiation, and shooting. Those methods are never presented as something viewers should accept, but they remain a serious concern. Frequent foul language, including two “f” words, further spoils the film’s charm. A subplot involving a homosexual character who clashes with his father adds another concern.
Adults who can engage these issues thoughtfully may find a moving, redemptive story. For families with children or young teens, choose something else. The practical answer: WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESOve is a grumpy, tightly controlled man in a small Swedish town. After losing both his beloved wife and his long-time factory job, he believes he has no reason to live and tries to join his wife in death.
But a new family moves in next door, and their repeated violations of neighborhood rules keep interrupting Ove’s plans. As he becomes involved in the lives of his neighbors, memories of his own past begin to reshape how he sees his future.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a good film with meaningful flaws. A MAN CALLED OVE shines with charm, heartwarming performances, and a talented cast. Rolf Lassgård is exceptional as the grumpy yet lovable Ove, and the movie balances the darkness of suicide with the lighthearted wit of its quirky supporting characters.
The flashbacks provide needed insight into Ove’s past and make his story increasingly captivating. However, they also contribute to a pacing problem. The first half moves slowly and seems to lack forward momentum before the film finds its rhythm. Excessive foul language also damages an otherwise charming movie.
The Worldview
A MAN CALLED OVE presents a light moral and redemptive worldview. Ove operates according to a strict moral compass, believing in simple principles of right and wrong. The film exalts honesty, doing the right thing, loving one’s neighbor, bearing one another’s burdens, and finding purpose by helping others.
Its central moral movement is away from isolation and toward community. Ove’s repeated suicide attempts are a serious worldview problem, but the film does not ask viewers to accept them as proper ways to cope with tragedy. Instead, it encourages hope that he will choose life because other people need him and depend on him. The existence of an afterlife is suggested through a metaphorical confirmation near the end.
The film’s worldview is marred by Romantic elements, including a subplot in which Ove takes in a young man after his angry father kicks him out for being homosexual. That subplot presents a conflict that parents and Christian viewers should consider carefully.
The film’s deepest longing is for purpose after loss. Scripture points toward a life ordered around love of neighbor: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Light moral, redemptive worldview where people find their purpose in helping their fellow man and promoting honesty is the best policy, doing the right thing, loving one’s neighbor, bearing one another’s burdens, and the existence of an afterlife is suggested, but marred by Romantic elements, including politically correct subplot where protagonist takes in a young man because angry father has kicked him out for being a homosexual; at least 60 obscenities and profanities including two “f” words, over a dozen “s” words, several “d” words, and numerous “god” exclamations; several strong instances of aggressive and accidental violence, a man gets hit by a train, protagonist assaults men who try to steal is wallet, protagonist trips a clown, protagonist attempts suicide by hanging, asphyxiation and shooting himself, a man threatens another man by pushing him up against a car, a mild scene of a bus crash and its aftermath (including some bloody injuries); no depicted sex, but there are references to one character’s homosexuality; no nudity; no alcohol; no smoking or drugs; and, some worldview problems such as protagonist’s repeated attempts to commit suicide.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Ove believes his life has lost its purpose after devastating loss. Why can grief make life feel empty, and where can lasting hope be found?
Psalm 34:18 · Romans 8:38–39Ove repeatedly helps neighbors even while believing most people are foolish. What does it mean to love your neighbor when you do not naturally like or understand them?
Mark 12:31 · Romans 12:18The film treats suicide attempts as a wrong response to tragedy. How can a community notice someone’s pain and help carry that burden?
Galatians 6:2 · 1 Thessalonians 5:14Ove follows a strict sense of right and wrong. How should Christians pursue honesty and righteousness while extending mercy to wounded people?
Micah 6:8 · Ephesians 4:15The Final Word
A MAN CALLED OVE offers heart, humor, strong performances, and a redemptive vision of community. But its repeated suicide attempts, frequent foul language, and troubling subplot make it unsuitable for children and young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For other family options, see.
