I remember reading the back of the book this was based on awhile ago and thinking how great this sounded. I never got around to reading it and when I spied this movie based on it, I was overjoyed!! I didn't even know this has been made. The film does not disappoint. It is a fun, fast paced, ridiculous adventure not unlike a more subtle Forrest Gump and with a little less serious tone. There are some life lessons here to be learnt but its not specifically trying to teach us anything. It is just trying to have a good time so sit back and relax and laugh at the often disturbing dark humour and hilarious comedy of errs. This has all the earmarks and feel of a classic satire and the cast is so fantastic. I think with a slightly higher budget it could have been even better but they do a great job with what they're given. If you're not a fan of foreign films, don't balk at this because much of it is in English and the dialogue and script is brilliant. There are some incredibly memorable moments and lines and a crazy cast of characters that won't seen be forgotten. I will forever remember Allan Karlsson saying "if you want to kill me, you better hurry, I'm 100 years old."

Robert Gustafsson is absolute perfect. First of all the make up job they do on him as the 100 year old is amazing and he perfectly manages to play Allan across many, many decades and is believable. Its nice not to have different actors playing the same role to make youth believable. Allan is simple minded in some ways and just has this distinctive "I don't care/roll with the punches attitude" that doesn't change and makes him incredibly hilarious and fun. Iwar Wiklander is fantastic as Allan's partner in crime so to speak. His character is a little underdeveloped but they have great chemistry and he has some truly terrific moments. David Wiberg is also really great as the metaphorically lost guy looking for the meaning of life. Wiberg's character is the perfect balance to the other characters. Mia Skäringer plays the reluctant female drawn into the men's crazy adventure and falls for Wiberg. Being one of the only females in the film she holds her own and has some great moments of her own. Jens Hultén is one of my favourite characters especially following his amnesia and he plays a great part too. Alan Ford adds a needed part of the villain to the story and while he has very little screen time or development, he does it well.

This really is the definition of ensemble cast. Foreign films are often this way but everyone works together to make you laugh, smile, be shocked and just go along for the ride. Elephant shot in the butt? Stolen mobster money? A detective chasing them all across country? Budding romance? A 100 Year old man that just wants to be left alone? This is just simply fun. You can turn this on, sit back and have a great time. This honestly should do wonders for director Felix Herngren's career because he handles the film well, tells an incredible story and holds it all together flawlessly. If you're looking for something different but fun and entertaining you found it here!! Check this one out!! 8/10

"The 100 Year-old Man" is a reasonably enjoyable and quirky film. However, as you watch, no doubt you'll feel that you've seen it all before...which is not surprising. The film is sort of like a Swedish version of "Forrest Gump" merged with a crime film. The overall results are mixed. While the film is filled with wonderful ironies, many times these situations aren't all that funny. And, there is a definitely sweetness missing from this film that you had with "Forrest Gump".

The story is about a stupid old man who escapes from a nursing home. Along the way, he steals money that belongs to an evil gang and the gang and the police are both looking for him--but for very different reasons. Along the way, the film has a lot of interludes where you see the central character, Allan, when he's younger and his many Cold War adventures.

The film has many wonderful moments but the odd thing about it is that the flashbacks where Allan is involved in the Manhattan Project, meeting Truman, meeting Stalin and becoming a spy all are seriously flawed. First, there is no reason for these--they don't in any way relate to the rest of the film. So, there are Gump-like interludes within the film but they are completely irrelevant. Second, the transitions from today to the past are almost random. I think overall the film would have been better with NONE of these flashbacks and just stuck to the story about the stolen money, as this was much sweeter, funnier and entertaining. Seriously flawed but worth seeing.

"Hundraåringen som klev ut genom fönstret och försvann" is the original title of this little Swedish movie and well done to you if you manage to pronounce that. It is written and directed by Felix Herngren, who worked mostly for Swedish television recently. The film is basically split into two parts. The life of the hundred-year-old today and his past years where we get to see how he managed to shape history by meeting famous statesmen like Stalin and not so famous people like Einstein's brother. However, I have to say I found his life as a 100-year-old much funnier than the historic references.

The film is as violent with lots of black humor as you would expect from Scandinavian comedies these days if you are familiar with the likes of "In China They Eat Dogs" (which is Danish, but has similar humor). Another interesting anecdote about the film is that the actor who plays the central character isn't even half his age. Lots of make-up work here. Admittedly he looked old, but not even close to 100 or probably 90. The "exploding fox" scene at the start of the film already shows the path of humor this movie is gonna take. If you enjoy the beginning, you will probably also like everything that comes after. Explosions galore. All the characters are very colorful, almost too much that sometimes they seem a bit exaggerated like cartoon characters.

All in all, it's slightly under two entertaining hours, but by no means a must-see. This is a somewhat different road movie and I would like to finish this review by mentioning one of my favorite scenes where that one guys runs around in the biker jacket and the other one totally panics because of it. It's actually much funnier than it sounds here and I won't deny that the film occasionally really succeeded in making me (and the rest of the audience) laugh.