By Dax Benway, Senior Reporter
“A Man Called Otto” is heartwarming story about Otto Anderson and his life after the passing of his wife, Sonya.
It is a film set after the novel “A Man Called Ove,” written by Fredrick Backman.
Tom Hanks stars as Otto Anderson as he is trying to figure out a way to get back to his late wife, Sonya.
He spends a majority of the movie trying to end his life to be able to see her, but all he sees are flashbacks of Sonya and Otto growing up.
Then the attempt is not successful. Sonya believed there was something still worth living for.
Otto was an independent person and liked to do everything his way.
He would make his rounds every morning in the neighborhood, and when something was out of place, Otto had a problem with it.
All this would change when a new family moved in across the street. Otto was not fond of his neighbors at first, but little did he know this family would change his life forever.
Otto, still trying to shut out the world and do things his own way, is found in many situations where this new family is in need of help.
Otto is not one that comes off as being friendly, but Marisol, the mother of the family, always wants him to be nice and help others around him.
At first, Otto would only help them with little things, like letting them borrow a wrench or a ladder.
But as time went on, Otto’s role in their life became much more.
During his second attempted suicide, Otto is interrupted by Marisol asking him to drive her to the hospital after her husband fell off a ladder and broke his leg.
Otto sat with the kids, Luna and Abbie, as they waited for their father to get out of the emergency room.
This would be the moment where Otto took on a much bigger role not just with their family, but the whole neighborhood.
Even though Otto is still not a loving, caring person, you can tell when watching the movie that Marisol and her family are affecting his life in a positive way.
An example of his changed ways is when Malcolm, a boy who is also transgender, is thrown out of his home by his dad.
He comes to Otto for a place to stay, but Otto gives him so much more than that. Otto starts to become a father figure for Malcolm, teaching him basic everyday life skills for a man.
Otto became a bright light for the whole neighborhood, as he wasn’t just helping Marisol’s family out.
He was helping everyone in the neighborhood, including his old friends Reuben and Anita, from getting their home evicted by the real estate company trying to come for the elderly in the neighborhood.
Otto finds out the company was getting private health documents illegally to use as leverage to get the elderly out of their homes and into a retirement home.
He also took in the homeless cat of the neighborhood that he does not like either.
Otto has now become a vessel of light for everyone around him and starts to become a grandfather figure for Luna, Abbie and their new brother, Marco.
Otto would eventually pass away leaving almost everything he had to Marisol and her family. A great story and a great movie.
I would highly recommend it.