The second most-watched movie on Netflix UK at the time of writing is A Man Called Otto, a popular Tom Hanks comedy-drama from 2022 which was added to the streaming service on Sunday, October 13. The movie is currently the second-most-watched film on the service, just below original documentary Sweet Bobby: My Catfish Nightmare and above other originals like The Menendez Brothers and Lonely Planet.
Hanks stars in the movie as a grouchy widower living in the Pittsburgh suburbs who's given up on life, until a Mexican family moves in next door. While they initially clash, slowly the man (who's called Otto, if you couldn't guess) learns to open his heart to these strangers. But people who've watched the modern Tom Hanks movie might not be aware that it's actually a remake of an even more popular film.
A Man Called Otto is a remake of a Swedish movie called A Man Called Ove, which came out in 2015. The plot is similar, and stars Rolf Lassgård in the titular role, setting the action in a quiet neighborhood as a family of Iranian immigrants move in.
Both of these movies were based on a Swedish novel called "A Man Called Ove" by Fredrik Backman, which apparently was very loosely based on a real person.
After it came out, A Man Called Ove was a big hit, becoming one of the best-known Swedish movies of recent years. It was nominated for two Oscars (Best Foreign Language Film, which it lost ironically to Iran's The Salesman, and Best Makeup and Hairstyling which it lost to Suicide Squad), and sits at 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a lot higher than A Man Called Otto's 70%.
Given those accolades, A Man Called Ove is the perfect watch if you enjoyed A Man Called Otto. If you live in the UK it's available to stream on Mubi while in the US it's on plenty of free streaming services including Freevee, Plex, Crackle and Tubi.
If you haven't watched A Man Called Otto yet, then you can see it on Netflix in the UK as well as in the US. In the latter country, it's on its way out, as its last day to stream is on Tuesday, November 5. So catch it in the next few weeks if you're interested.
