Otto is a pretty typical “grumpy old man.” Every day, he walks the block of his “gated” community (it’s a single street with a gate) and takes note of everything that his neighbors have done which violates the homeowner’s association. He does help his neighbors, but only because they are “idiots” who don’t know how to do the simple things he knows how to do and only after complaining about being called on to do it. As we dig deeper, Otto is not only grumpy, but truly angry; life has taken away the only thing he cares about and he has no desire to keep living. When a pregnant immigrant woman and her family move in across the street, however, Otto has to learn to come to terms with the anger that drives everyone away and see if he can embrace life with others, even if its not on his terms.

Continue reading “We Need Each Other: Community and “A Man Called Otto”” →