The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared

It’s a fairly common theme for a senior-centric film. A senior citizen who may think he or she has nothing left to live for rediscovers life, bonds with friends and rediscovers themselves. The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared twists that theme on its ear by placing its eponymous character in unlikely scenarios, but still manages to be endearing, charming and funny, if somewhat unbelievable.

The film, in Swedish with English voice-overs and subtitles, follows Allan Karlsson (Robert Gustafsson) who, after using dynamite to blow up a fox that killed his dog (ironically named Molotov), is put in a retirement home as he nears his 100th birthday. Tired of being constrained to a home, Allan climbs out of the window one night and walks off into the world in a crazy few days of nearly unbelievable circumstances – including finding $50 million, being pursued by angry bikers and bonding with a former circus elephant named Sonja.

The film follows a premise set by a young Allan’s mother on her death bed. She responds to his question about how a pre-teen boy in Sweden will manage without any parents. She responds, “You sound like your father. He was always thinking for no good reason. Thinking will get you nowhere.”

This philosophy prompts Allan to stop considering anything and decide to just go for whatever comes his way. His first stop is a bus station, where he buys a ticket with the change in his pocket. As he’s leaving, a tough biker asks him to watch his suitcase, which Allan inadvertently steals as his bus arrives. Unbeknown to Allan, the suitcase contains a ton of cash that the biker and his pals very much want back.

Throughout the next few days, Allan befriends Julius, another elderly man who accompanies him on his journey – also leaving a boring life behind – to travel through Sweden with the $50 million and the gang of biker thugs following in their footsteps. On their journey, they meet Benny, a forever student unsure of what he wants out of life. And naturally, Benny joins them on their trek.

The three men then meet Gunilla, a woman who lives alone in the hills and takes them in for a few days. Gunilla’s ex is one of the bikers. They track the elderly men down, but eventually all fall victim to fatal accidents as their boss becomes increasingly upset about losing his money.

While Allan’s and Julius’ antics lead to heartfelt laughs, The 100-Year-Old Man suffers in a few places. The film’s present timeline is sporadically interrupted by flashbacks from Allan’s first 99 years, a life that included being a surgical test patient, working on the Manhattan Project and becoming a double agent during the Cold War. Allan also had a lifetime penchant for dynamite and blowing things up, which seems to be the only thing he really understands or remembers.

Another issue is that Allan’s past and present predicaments require some suspension of disbelief. It’s hard to figure out how three bikers with guns can fall victim to a witty, century-old man who has trouble walking, but it happens. The viewer rolls with it. The film increases in unbelievability as Allan, Julius and Benny befriend Gunilla and take her and her former-circus elephant, Sonja, to Bali to live as a one big, odd and happy ad hoc family.

Even with the discrepancies, The 100-Year-Old Man is fun to watch. The dialogue is witty and while the situations may be a bit outlandish, the characters are genuine in their approach to how weird life can be, no matter what age you are while you’re living it.

The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (3) • Directed by Herngren • Starring Robert Gustafsson, Iwar Wiklander, David Wiberg • Rated R • 114 min •At Osio Cinemas.