Immediately, your attention is drawn to 'The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared' because of its halting title. But the film, adapted for the screen by Felix Herngren from author Jonas Jonasson’s bestselling novel, goes far beyond a lengthy, eyecatching name.

The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared

The director even compared the movie’s titular character, Allan Karlsson, to America’s favourite intrepid adventurer: Forest Gump. And it’s easy to see why, even though Gump was living the life he’d later explain, Karlsson has already traversed the earth in a number of bizarre situations. 

More: Read our review of 'The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared'

"I think of it as a road movie," Herngren explained, according to The BBC. "You have the story of a man called Allan Karlsson, who ends up in a nursing home as he turns one hundred years old. But he's bored, and on the day of his party, just climbs out of the window and goes on an extraordinary adventure, involving stolen suitcases of cash, criminals, and elephants - the latter not something you see that often in the Swedish countryside.”

The movie is set to translate perfectly to an audience outside of Scandinavia, where the story is already a popular hit. In fact, with the book having sold six million copies and been translated into 38 languages since it was originally published in 2009, most of the movie-loving world already knows about Karlsson and his exploits. 

"In many ways, there's an element of Forrest Gump about him - a simple man to whom extraordinary things happen - so much so, that when Jonas saw that film in 1994, he was very depressed, as he'd already had the idea for the book,” added Herngren when talking about the film. "But Allan Karlsson is his own man - he's inquisitive and curious about life and that's probably why he's managed to reach his century."

Watch the trailer for 'The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of a Window and Disappeared'