Reviews of "Second Life of Uwe" will be interesting to all fans of modern cinema, who are in a constant search for new and interesting directorial works. This film is just one of these examples. This is a comedy drama by the Swedish director Hannes Holm, which is an adaptation of the novel of the same name by Frederick Buckman. In 2017, the tape entered the top five films that were nominated for an Oscar as the best films in a foreign language. But in the end, the award went to the Iranian drama "Salesman".
Summary
In many reviews of Uwe’s Second Life, viewers and critics note a detailed script that keeps the viewer in suspense throughout the film.
From the very beginning, pensioner Uwe Lindahl, a typical grouchy old man, is at the center of the story. He lives in a village that patrols daily, as any disorder infuriates him. It can be a car parked with violations, a thrown cigarette butt, toys forgotten in a mess by a child in the sandbox.
The main character is 59 years old, 43 of them he worked in a railway depot, like his father. When the day came on which the boss advised him to take up his personal growth, he realized that he was being fired. Uwe refused to attend continuing education courses and left.
After the death of his wife, life completely lost all meaning to him. He even decided to commit suicide: he put on his outfit, stood on a stool to hang himself, but at the last moment he saw how the new neighbors who settled in the house opposite could not park their trailer with things. Unable to stand, he decided to postpone the attempted suicide, going to the rescue.
New neighbors
The new neighbors are a married couple - their names are Parvaneh and Patrick. They already have two daughters, they are expecting a third child. Parvaneh is an Iranian by nationality, she is very emotional, constantly swears in Farsi.
There are also old friends of Uwe in the village. This is Rune and Anita. They spoke closely in their youth, when Uwe was elected chairman of the board, Rune became his deputy. Together they kept order. Their only difference was in choosing a car - Uwe always considered Saab to be the best, and Rune went to Volvo. Now his friend is confined to a wheelchair, the municipality is trying to send him to a nursing home.
Uwe himself brings a bouquet of flowers to his wife’s cemetery every day. Once again, he promises her that they will see each other soon. Arriving home, again puts on a noose around his neck, at this moment the doorbell rings. These turn out to be new neighbors who, in gratitude, bring him chicken with rice and saffron. In addition, they are asked to lend them a ladder. Uwe grumbles, but again goes to help them. When everyone leaves, he still tries to hang himself again, but now the rope breaks.
Killing yourself is not so easy.
This is a quote from "Second Life" Uwe ", which is immediately remembered by the audience.
Help from Parvaneh
Uwe is making another attempt to commit suicide in the garage. He wants to poison himself in the exhaust of his beloved Saab. But he is again distracted by Parvaneh. Husband fell down the stairs, she asks to take her to the hospital.
The next day, Uwe leaves for the train station to throw himself under the train, but at the last moment he sees a man who has lost consciousness and fell on the rails. There are a lot of people around, but everyone is shooting the incident on camera, not even trying to help him. Uwe intervenes again, pulling the victim to the platform.
Near his house, along with a new neighbor, he discovers a wounded cat. Parvaneh cannot take her to her because of allergies in children. Therefore, the animal settles at Uwe. Sympathy for the old man is infused with the children of new neighbors, even despite his grumbling. Parvaneh urgently offers help: to clean the house, take to the attic the belongings of his deceased wife. Uwe is angry, but the girl insists that he needs to start a new life, no matter how much he loves his Sonya.
Uwe is making another attempt to crack down on life. He hangs the walls with cellophane so that there are no traces of blood, trying to shoot himself from a gun. At this moment, a guy from a cafe knocks on his house. His father kicked him out of the house when he confessed to being gay. The old man leaves him to spend the night.
Anita's house
Social workers again come to Anita and Rune. A pensioner refuses to let them in, claiming that she will look after her own husband. On her side are all the inhabitants of the village. A journalist appears who has found financial irregularities in the company's statements, but promises not to publish them if the municipality no longer touches these people. The protagonist is not the first time clearly speaks about power.
Always the same thing. And people are the same. They do not change. Names change, but they are the same people. These officials need one thing: spoil people's lives.
Uwe talks to her friend, who smiles back.
Denouement
On the way home, the main character becomes ill. He is taken to a hospital, where doctors diagnose him with a “too big heart”. Parvaneh comes to visit him, right in the ward, her birth begins.
A few days later, the neighbors celebrate the birth of a new resident of the village. Uwe, who has already been discharged from the hospital, brings a crib from the attic as a gift. He is happy, feels like a grandfather in this large family.
In winter, Parvaneh notices that the path in front of Uwe’s house is not cleared. With her husband, they discover that at night the old man died quietly in his bed. There is a note on the nightstand in which he asks to respect the rights of his cat: to leave her to crap alone and give tuna twice a day.
Cast
In the film "Second Life of Uwe", many noted a strong cast. The main role was played by the Swede Rolf Lassgord. This is one of the most famous modern Scandinavian actors.
Twice he became the owner of the national film award of his country - the Golden Beetle Award. The first time he received a figurine for his work in the film "My Big, Fat Father," in 1993. In 2015, he repeated this achievement in the movie "Second Life of Uwe."
Among his recent works, one can distinguish the drama Vibeke Ids “The Lion Girl” and the fantastic dramatic comedy by Alexander Payne “In short”.
Among the actors of "Second Life Uwe" was a lot of bright debutants. Parvanech played Bahar Pars, Patrick - Tobias Almborg, Rune - Bjorie Lundberg, Anita - Katarina Larsson.
Second chance in old age
Among similar films on “The Second Life of Uwe”, one can immediately recall another Swedish picture - “A Centennial Old Man Who Crawled Out the Window and disappeared” by Felix Herngren. This is a story about the 100-year-old protagonist, who leaves his nursing home on the day of his anniversary. He leaves in an unknown direction, hiding from meaningless living in an almshouse.
In 2008, Clint Eastwood directed the drama Gran Torino, which talked about retired mechanic Walt Kowalski. In total, his old neighbors either died or left; immigrants whom he despised settled around.
A similar plot in the comedy animated film Bob Peterson and Pete Docter "Up". The protagonist is 78-year-old grumbler Karl Fredriksen. He decides to realize his dream of traveling with the help of thousands of balloons tied to his house.
Reviews
In reviews of Uwe’s Second Life, critics and viewers noted that this is a story about the Scandinavian world order and the trend towards humanism, which has become common to European films of recent years. And in the simplest sense - absolute decency, rigor instead of sweetness.
Judging by the reviews of the “Second Life of Uwe,” in modern Europe these factors are becoming the main conditions for survival in the multinational hostel that is being formed on the continent.