Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.0

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Blu-ray Movie Review

Förrest Gümp.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 25, 2015

If Forrest Gump had had a somewhat older Swedish cousin, chances are he might have looked a lot like Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson), the newly minted centenarian whose life story forms the basis of the whimsical but surprisingly dark at times The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared. Forrest of course found himself at the center of an improbable number of high profile historical events, kind of like an unwitting witness stumbling through a sequence of epochal incidents without much overall awareness of their importance. Something somewhat similar happens to Allan, though in Felix Herngren’s cinematic adaptation of a best selling Swedish novel by Jonas Jonasson, structural artifices tend to keep the viewer just slightly off kilter at times, making this less of a “who will Allan meet next?” enterprise than surface descriptions might suggest. The film artfully ping pongs back and forth between Allan’s present day travails, which find the elderly gentleman more or less escaping from a retirement home only to find himself ensconced in an unfortunate series of events involving a rather large suitcase full of illicitly gained cash, and a series of flashbacks which slowly but surely detail a completely remarkable life filled with seemingly coincidental interchanges with a who’s who of iconic historical figures. A little more tart feeling than Forrest Gump due to some of the actually shocking vagaries of Allan’s fate, The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared was a gargantuan success in its homeland, nearly eclipsing the box office records set by The Dragon Tattoo Trilogy - Extended Edition.

Allan seems like an ordinary, if kind of lonely, elderly man living out in the country where his cat Molotov is his only companion. When Molotov is dispatched by a roving fox one night, Allan decides to take matters into his own hands, which results in the first of several major explosions, since it turns out Allan has a flair with things like dynamite and definitely loves things that go boom. That escapade relegates Allan to a retirement home, where his hundredth birthday is about to be celebrated by an overworked staff. Allan doesn’t want to have anything to do with that, however, and per the somewhat ungainly title of the film, simply ups and departs the facility via the wall opening, quickly shambling over to the local train and bus station.

Within mere moments, the happenstance arrival of a punk with an outsized suitcase at the station serves as the impetus for the contemporary arc of the plot, when the punk can’t get into the bathroom with the thing and demands that Allan hold onto to it for him. Allan holds onto it all right—right through his own trip on a bus to a more or less deserted burg which is the furthest he can get on the loose change he finds in his wallet. He befriends a local named Julius (Iwar Wiklander), and the two end up dispatching the punk, who manages to track them down. At that point, they realize that the suitcase is stuffed with literally millions of krona. There’s a darkly comic aspect to this contemporary unfolding, though that particular darkness pales in comparison to some of the flashbacks that start intruding, slowly but surely detailing the rather incredible background of Allan.

A number of disturbing incidents in Allan’s early life are detailed, including the arrest and execution of his father in early 20th century Russia, followed in quick succession by the death of his mother from what appears to be tuberculosis (certain plot points are simply glossed over). Allan’s love of explosives ultimately gets him consigned to the local mental institution, which is when an especially horrifying situation is depicted, one that at least sets the poor guy free out into the big, wild world. Allan’s adventures ultimately include a whole rogues’ gallery of infamous 20th century provocateurs, including Francisco Franco (who is not dead, per Saturday Night Live, but who almost meets his fate, saved by Allan unwittingly—of course). Later vignettes include folks like Joseph Stalin and (just for good measure) the geniuses behind the Manhattan Project, not to mention a not-so-genius relative of Albert Einstein’s.

Meanwhile in “current” time Allan, Julius, and the third “stooge” (so to speak), a naif named Benny (David Wiberg), attempt to elude both the criminals who want their cash back and a well meaning cop who initially is called to investigate Allan’s disappearance from the old folks’ home, but who soon realizes something bigger may be unfolding. The contemporary plot mechanics are increasingly whimsical, ultimately involving a potential romance for Benny which rather improbably involves the unexpected appearance of an elephant.

There’s a bit of a tonal disconnect running through The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared which repeatedly undercuts the film’s more whimsical proclivities. The darkness of Allan’s backstory is the main culprit here, and while it helps to develop a baseline of sympathy for the character, there’s a surprising lack of emotional connection to Allan that keeps events from ever resonating as fully as they might. The whole McGuffin of the loot in the suitcase is ultimately jettisoned, too, leaving the three adventurers in a sort of weird stasis, with only that aforementioned elephant to provide a bit of (also weird) comedy relief.

Still, there’s a rather appealing sense of history here, albeit one skewed in a sort of Jay Ward Mr. Peabody & Sherman manner. The film certainly offers a showcase for Gustafsson, who, while slathered in latex for his “old man” scenes, delivers a rather nuanced portrait of a wide eyed innocent stumbling through a series of epochal historical happenings. The film is undeniably scenic, traversing huge geographies to offer a global portrait of one man who was improbably at the center of a series of both fortunate and unfortunate events.

Note: My colleague Brian Orndorf was somewhat less positively disposed toward this film when it was released theatrically. You can read Brian's assessment here.

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Music Box Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. The IMDb lists the Arri Alexa as having been utilized for the shoot, and the film offers a typically sharp, well detailed but fairly smooth looking appearance that pops most convincingly in the brightly lit outdoor sequences (which are numerous). Various moments have been graded, often in buttery yellows or occasionally cooler blues, and a minimal amount of detail is lost in these sequences. Some of the CGI and/or green screen work is surprisingly soft and even shoddy looking, one of the few outright disappointments the film has to offer from a visual standpoint. Close-ups offer abundant fine detail, including nice looks at the outstanding makeup Gustafsson wears for his old age scenes. Contrast is generally excellent, though a few dark scenes suffer from inadequate shadow detail.

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared actually offers two lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mixes, one which presents some of Allan's voiceover narrative segues in English, and the other which is completely in Swedish. Aside from the interstitial English elements, both mixes are identical, and both offer substantial and convincing LFE that makes Allan's love of explosives a floorboard shaking event. Otherwise, the mix offers good immersive capabilities once Allan and his cohorts get out and about in contemporary Sweden, while also offering good placement of effects throughout the many historical vignettes. Dialogue is cleanly presented and is always well prioritized. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range extremely wide (at least for "this" kind of film) on this problem free track.

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• The Making of The 100 Year Old Man (1080p; 44:38) is an above average piece that includes some good behind the scenes footage and interesting interviews.


• Interview with Robert Gustafsson (1080p; 13:41) is an engaging sit down with the actor, who looks completely different in his "natural state", not being buried under pounds of latex or other makeup.


• Interview with Director Felix Herngren (1080p; 13:45) finds the helmer discussing some of the challenges he faced in bringing the novel to life as a film.


• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:09)

The 100 Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared never manages to tether the audience to itself emotionally in the same way that Forrest Gump did, and that prevents Allan's story from ever really resonating fully. There is still a whimsical if often surprisingly dark and tart series of vignettes on display, and Gustafsson is extremely winning in the title role. Technical merits are generally excellent, and The Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared comes Recommended.