Introduction
A Man Called Ove is a 2015 Swedish comedy-drama film. The movie is about 60-year-old widower Ove Lindahl, a former chairman of the neighborhood association watch unit, who is irritated by the antics of his neighbors, especially those who park their cars in front of his driveway (Bellander & Holm, 2015). One day, a young Iranian immigrant couple moves into the house across from Ove’s and accidentally flattens his mailbox while pulling in. In an attempt to confront them and get it fixed. This encounter starts an unexpected friendship between him and Parvaneh, her Swedish husband Patrick, and their two daughters, Sepideh and Nasanin.
Background
Ove is a sixty-year-old widower who lives in a small, peaceful town. His wife, Sonja, died of cancer. Ove is depressed, leading to his forced retirement from the train company where he has worked for forty-three years. His mother died when he was still a child, and he was raised by his quiet father, who worked as a mechanic at a train company (Bellander & Holm, 2015). As a boy, Ove takes a part-time job within the company, particularly at the train yard. He lost his father when he failed to take care while crossing the railway train and was hit by a train.
Ove’s Journey
Parvaneh appears like a daughter to him and does everything she can to help him out. As the movie continues, we understand that Ove thinks of Parvaneh as a nuisance, and there is little connection between them. As a result, they start to get along because Parvaneh understands his challenging situation, and she appears to tolerate him. Ove starts to open himself up and allows himself some closeness with Parvaneh. He wants to share something of his life with somebody else besides his cat, but there is nothing else (Bellander & Holm, 2015).
Due to he is lonely and she is getting along so well with him, Ove gets closer to Parvaneh than anybody else in his life has been able to do before. He starts to talk more to her, and they develop a real connection with each other. Their bond throughout the movie becomes stronger and stronger. Ove has opened himself up to many things and now believes he can open up more (Bellander & Holm, 2015). He feels better now when Parvaneh is around him because she notices something is wrong.
Developmental Period Easing into Middle Adulthood
Ove is in his middle adulthood. The critical physical development outcomes include reduced cardiorespiratory endurance, which heightened the risk of cardiovascular disease due to Increased arterial stiffness and cardiovascular risk (Travis et al., 2022). In the movie, Rune suffered a stroke, which led to his being paralyzed (Bellander & Holm, 2015). In addition, some social development issues in middle adulthood include relationships with influential people in this process, where the social network changes over time (Travis et al., 2022).
In the movie, Ove decided to be alone after Sonya died. Another social development issue is major mid-life events where children leave home, spouse moves out or dies, and retirement; in the movie, Ove losses his wife. Cognitive development issues faced in middle adulthood include having a restricted range of feelings over time. It impacts social relationships, mental health, and overall quality of life. In the film, Ove attempts suicide several times before he decides to have a good relationship with his new neighbors across the street. Lastly, the emotional development issues in middle adulthood include the stress of retired life, whereby at this stage, a person gets more time with his family, and travel is no longer an option due to limited income and health (Travis et al., 2022). another emotional development issue is depression because, in middle adulthood, a person may have to deal with the death of a spouse, children leaving home, and retirement. In the film, Ove is forced into retirement because he is depressed.
Bronfenbrenner Ecological Systems Theory
The aspects of Ecological Systems that Ove is part of include: Microsystems. Ove is part of the Neighborhood Association; this community shapes Ove’s way of thinking and acting and creates boundaries for him. for example, in this case, Ove is a hoarder. The character becomes dependent on things to replace human relationships (Shelton, 2018). Another aspect is the mesosystem which is Ove’s world. The block sets the rules and limitations, deals with conflicts, and so on (Shelton, 2018). For instance, Ove cannot socialize with others and thus keeps himself separate from everyone else. As Parvaneh and her family show him he is not alone anymore, Ove overhears them talking about his wife Sonja, who passed away four years earlier. He was so angry with her for leaving him that he could not accept her death, which made him focus on insecurity.
Erikson’s Theory of Development
Generativity vs. stagnation. At this stage, Erikson states that tasks are different from the child’s view of them as now he or she will generate a new reality, and this causes anxiety since the reality they just generated was not satisfactory enough. The main task of this stage is to move on, accept what has happened, and deal with that reality (Beyer & Lazzara, 2020). In the movie, Ove is not moving forward; he is just looking at the past Ove is generationally stuck at this stage. At the movie’s end, Ove finally recognizes the importance of communication, which causes him to reach the next stage. Integrity vs. Despair. In the previous stage, the person has accepted that their life has changed, but they are working hard to get on with their former life (Beyer & Lazzara, 2020).
In the movie, it is clear that Ove can not get on with his life due to his problems with Sonja, his wife, causing him isolation. In the movie, it is clear that Ove needs to get in touch with his inner feelings by coming to terms with Sonja, who has left this world, causing Ove to stop being irritated with the loss of his wife.
Expanding on the Movie’s Developmental Issue
Something within the movie about that character’s developmental period is Erickson’s fifth stage of development: Identity versus identity confusion. At this stage, an adolescent establishes goals and priorities. An adolescent can identify with others. According to Gross (2020), at this stage, adolescents start to see themselves as similar to others and develop a “sense” of who they are. At this stage, an adolescent is capable of making his own choices(Gross, 2020). In the movie, Ove grows a strong self-identity and becomes independent. In addition, in the movie, Ove has expectations of becoming a good student, and when he is well in his exams, he shows his father the result. In addition, as an adolescent, Ove works a part-time job at the train station yard. It shows that Ove focuses on life and strives to fulfill his expectations.
Conclusion
In the movie, Ove attempts suicide many times after his wife dies. It is because he does not know where he fits in the world. He had no purpose, and he could not find one. He had nothing unique that made him special. Also, the reason why he attempted suicide was that he was so used to being alone and isolated that the idea of being in a naturally social environment instilled panic in him. According to Gross (2020), in Erickson’s theory of human development, the stage of identity vs. confusion occurs when an individual struggle to forge a sense of mental identity and self-worth. The onset of identity vs. confusion also marks the beginning of a period of psychological testing, where individuals must create an ideology to help them develop a sense of self (Gross, 2020).
In the movie, A man called Ove, Ove’s wife, passes away, and he does not know where he fits in the world anymore. It caused anxiety and increased depression. More importantly, Ove did not have any purpose or goals and felt isolated from others in society afterward (Bellander & Holm, 2015). Therefore, he struggled with different ideas about himself, trying to find one that would give him meaning and value.
References
Bellander, A. (Producer), & Holm, H. (Director). (2015). A man called Ove [Film]. Sweden: Tre Vänner.
Beyer, A. & Lazzara,J. ( 2020). Psychology through the lifespan. Maricopa Community Collage. Web.
Gross, Y. (2020). Erikson’s stages of psychosocial development. The Wiley Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences: Models and Theories, 179-184. Web.
Shelton, L. G. (2018). Essentials of systems theory. The Bronfenbrenner Primer, 55–57. Web.
Travis, F., Thompson, E., & Parim, N. (2022). Differentiation of self, life span theory, and higher stages of human development. The Family Journal. Web.