A Man Called Ove (2015)

The Swedish submission for the 2017 Oscars, is is in the final five.  It is a Scandinavian comedy, which means that it is a bit dark, but not Danish dark. The story is told in the present and in the past in a very effective way.  We see the cranky Ove in the present day, where he does little beyond yell at everyone to follow the persnickety rules that he has devised for his small self-gated community and he puts flowers on his recently passed wife's grave.  Then he adds attempting suicide to his daily ritual and he is exceedingly bad at that.  In fact, each attempt puts him into contact with other humans, people who can help to give his life meaning, and while he resists their attempts to bring him out, to make him a part of the community, to use his considerable skills with his hands, and yet they are persistent and ultimately they succeed.  It is a bittersweet tale very kindly and beautifully told.  It is my first film to watch in this category, so I can't yet comment on what I think its chances of winning are, but it is a really excellent film.