SOUNDBITE: ‘Otto’ is emotional roller coaster

Rachel Froese, Staff Writer|January 15, 2023

Movie: A Man Called Otto

Platform: theaters

My rating: ♦♦♦♦◊

  A Man Called Otto is a story about a grumpy old man who wants to give up but finds something to live for again. 

  This movie can be very distressing so viewer discretion is advised. A Man Called Otto is based on a book called A Man Called Ove. 

This movie stars Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump from Forrest Gump, Woody from Toy Story) and Mariana Treviño (Queen Dolores from Once Upon a Time… Happily Never After). 

  This movie follows Otto (Hanks) and his unlikely journey to find life and friends like Marisol (Treviño) creating a heartwrenching but heartwarming story.

  I really liked this movie although it had me crying the majority of the time. It was definitely very different than I expected. I had not watched any trailer or read anything about it, so I went into this blind, and my expectations were completely flipped but not in a bad way.

  A Man Called Otto carries a somber tone throughout the movie. It does a great job of bringing you into the story and making you feel for the characters. The quiet moments of the movie are perfectly placed and do the job of conveying the seriousness of the story. I feel that I have a love-hate view of this movie. I love the story, but I hate how sad it was and how sad it made me.

  The movie kept me immersed, it made me want to yell as if the characters could hear me, but obviously I couldn’t, as I was in a theater. The cinemetography was great, it really brought me in. They did a great job of carrying the tone and the mood all throughout the movie. The camera angles, the lighting, the quietness–all of these were put together very nicely for the story. I felt that there was no awkardness whatsoever with the cinemetography.

  This movie contained flashbacks to give you Otto’s backstory and his reasons for why he is the way that he his. I loved watching the story progress and the pieces fall together. If you are susceptible to crying during movies, prepare yourself, it is quite the rollercoaster.

  This movie is worth the watch. I don’t know if I’d watch it again (too emotional), but it is a good movie. The movie is PG-13 and can be watched exclusively in theaters now.