A touching, comic crowd-pleaser that may require tissues by the end, this is an irresistible adaptation of Fredrik Backman's best-seller, about a stubborn, short-tempered man with steadfast beliefs, strict routines and the sense that everyone around him is an idiot. After new neighbors move in, the cantankerous old widower's solitary, regimented world is shaken in ways he never would have imagined.

The action unfolds both in the present and in flashback. The knowledge that we receive about his formative years, and especially the unfolding of the story of the love of his life, allows us to understand how this "old git" got this way. As one would hope, there is heroism and genuine goodness lying beneath his prickly exterior. But is it too late?

Ultimately, it is Ove's friendship with the new neighbors-practical, pregnant Parvaneh, her young daughters, and her hopelessly unhandy husband-that gives cause for hope. As Holm makes poignantly clear, being needed is an essential human desire and life is so much sweeter when it is shared with others.

Winner: Audience Award, Mill Valley, Traverse City; Best Actor, Seattle