the leading man is my tpye

Wonderful character development!

the audience applauded

A Disappointing Continuation

No film has captured the essence and opulence of existence like You, the Living a 2007 Swedish film written and directed by Roy Andersson. You, the Living cuts to the core of what it means to be human and the existential dread that plagues society. The characters portrayed are everyday people each with their own caricatured personality trait that makes them identifiable as plagued by some facet of the human condition. The composition of the film is masterfully accomplished with a finesse and style that exemplifies the brilliance of Roy Andersson as a director. Arguably the most prominently apparent theme is that of existentialism. The opening sequence immediately sets the tone of the film with the lamentations of a middle-aged woman who tearfully proclaims that nobody loves her to the dismay of her boyfriend. She rejects his condolences and even shuns the love of her dog. Despite her boyfriend's attempts to console her and assure her that things are not as bad as she believes them to be, she is determined to be miserable. As her boyfriend stalks off she sings a song about how a motorcycle would make her happy to the tune of a swinging jazz band. Her requirement for material possessions in order to be happy is a fundamental flaw that pervades modern society. As the film progresses it introduces a carpenter who is executed for botching a magic trick, a pickpocket who robs a pompous wealthy man, a psychiatrist who has given up on counselling people and now just prescribes pills, a girl who dreams of marrying her rock star idol, and a couple dwelling on an argument throughout the day. The profound discontent of the portrayed people is framed by the juxtaposition of the psychiatrist's monologue. The immense unhappiness exhibited by each of the characters is clearly self-inflicted; they fail to recognize and appreciate everything they have going for them.The sets in the film are bleak and minimalist, almost devoid of colour, in order to draw attention to the lives of the characters. The vast emptiness and geometric simplicity of the scenes is a visualization of the way the discontented characters view their world. Andersson's consideration and removal of all distractions from the core of the piece make the message of the film that much more clear. Furthermore, the stationary camera shots and complete lack of any sort of change in perspective during a scene is nigh unique amongst mainstream films. Consequently, every aspect of every scenes is focused on the characters. The camera work combined with the washed out colours gives the audience the perspective of a third party observer with the exact same outlook on life as the characters portrayed. When combining the cinematographic styling and the lack of any sort of plot to speak of the film takes on a sort of breadth of humanity discourse. Roy Andersson goes a step further than just a discursive portrayal of self-inflicted human suffering. In a brilliant series of cuts Andersson shows each character stop their daily routine of feeling sorry for themselves as they look to the sky. What is a common sign for a search for redemption in American film becomes a dark and poignant scene when the film cuts to a shot from above the wing of a bomber flying over the city. The miserable lives of the characters is symbolically brought to an end illustrating Andersson's resentment of the pitiful and self-absorbed lifestyle that was rampant throughout the film.You, the Living is a masterfully rendered machination of Roy Andersson. His control of the creative process engenders a complete and unified work that at its core thrusts at a single point and never wavers. You, the Living is a film that forces viewers to think about the manner in which they live their lives. The lifestyles portrayed in the film are rejected as unfulfilling and proposes that instead we enjoy and appreciate as the title card suggests "Therefore rejoice, you, the living, in your lovely warm bed, until Lethe's cold wave wets your fleeing foot."

Ah yes, Roy Andersson. That humble, down-to-earth guy, famous creator of oodles of award winning commercials with a Scandinavian sense of super dry dead-pan humor peppered with a touch of surrealism and the absurd. He's also undisputed champ of static shots and builder of pitch-perfect studio sets, a director who prefers vignettes over a consistent story to make a picture, and quite an essential (post-)modern film-maker. Located somewhere between Bergman, Fellini, Buñuel, some say even Monty Python, he draws from all of them in a way, and yet is entirely unique by doing his own thing - filming losers, life, people caught in the clutches of capitalism, haunted by guilt, with death, destruction and the dark cloud of the apocalypse always hanging over life, the universe and everything. "Songs from the Second Floor" (2000) marks part one of his still unfinished trilogy. "Songs" is bleak, depressing, revealing, thought-provoking with dark comedy mixed in it, and, naturally, a must-see."You, the Living" (2007) returns to the same world in a comedic way, sort of. "Sort of" because among other things there's of course that streetcar named "Lethe", the name of one of the rivers of death in ancient Greek myth, and people stream out into their lives from it, zombie-like blocking its path... Fitting to the river of forgetfulness a bartender regularly reminds us again and again: "Last drink!" Other people have little to remember, but dream their lives away, in romantic fashion far removed from reality, feel nightmarish bombers looming or embarrass themselves by trying to impress others, and get the death penalty before they wake up. At least they finally provided entertainment that way, as popcorn is handed out at the electric chair. Between dreams, hopes and impending doom life has to be lived, and it's full with its little quirks, pumped up by Andersson to the point of hilarious grotesqueness however presented realistically. Or the other way round. By marrying these apparent extremes without focusing on a central story in a painterly style we enter a state of mind that helps us to evaluate, appreciate and apprehend the fun way: you know, learn more about those guys addressed by the movie that are just mirrored on screen, supposedly known as "the living". Because we shouldn't be surprised that while we hold our heads high towards heaven our life as we know it will be extinguished at the end. That bombshell of a bummer would be the point when we - as the living - should have figured it all out, or at least have an inkling what all that Dixieland jazz is actually about...

Some people are happy with a Matt Damon thriller, as well they might be; some folks want a weeper, a well-made tear-jerker like Hachi, which is well and good. Those of us who have lived long enough and seen enough films sometimes crave a new approach, not merely for newness itself, but because the challenge of a new viewpoint, the exposure to a cinema world unlike any other, is often fascinating and fulfilling.In his time, Griffith did created a new vision, as did Fellini, or Bergman, or Bunuel, most of their films not always huge at the box office, but leaving a mark simply because they changed the way people look or thought about things. Roy Andersson does just this, painting an extraordinary world without a conventional plot line, without the usual throbbing soundtrack, without even professional actors--but if you allow yourself an immersion into his strange, lonely world where all those folks suffer miserably like so many other desperate souls, you will experience something in its own way like Chaplin and Keaton, often weirdly hilarious and sometimes terribly sad. Andersson's world is distinctively unusual, sometimes appearing static and monochromatic, often springing briefly to live only to sputter out suddenly, leaving the viewer contemplating what might have just been before being taken into the next field, the next room, the next life. Both distressing and oddly hopeful, experiencing Andersson's You, The Living and it's match, Songs From The Second Floor is unlike any ordinary narrative but vividly memorable.

"Be pleased then, you the living, in your delightfully warmed bed, before Lethe's ice-cold wave will lick your escaping foot."This opening quotation by Goethe speaks to director Roy Anderson's quest to expose the human condition of the living through a series of absurd and whimsical vignettes. Although the film lacks an overarching linear narrative, these vignettes all speak to unique human experiences in the at times crazy world that the living occupy. Through the character's bizarre interactions and comedic confessions, You, The Living opens the viewer to see the world and its workings in a novel way. One important theme of the film is the role of onlookers. These scenes explore how we don't realize how entangled we are with the bystanders that frequently surround us. Many of us go on our day-to-day business without considering the experiences of others. For example, there is one scene where daughter is trying to communicate with her mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's, while an unaddressed nursed sits daftly in the background. In a more obvious way, the large depressed woman who humorously wails that nobody understands her blatantly ignores her devoted partner and his tiny dog, who try to care for her. Ignoring the people around us comes to serious detriment to the businessman in the restaurant, when his oblivion allows a man sitting nearby to swipe his wallet out of his pocket whilst the rich man boasts to his friend about his wealth on his cell phone. At other times, the film shows what happens when the world simply ignores us. A man must endure the rain when a crowded bus stop denies him a place to stand, and another must take the stairs. These scenes capture the film's carefully balanced tone between humor and tragedy in its exploration of the world's forgotten or overlooked.Another interesting aspect about the film is that there are several occasions when the actors directly address the camera and audience. This often occurs when characters are describing their dreams to the viewer. The effect is humorous but poignant. For example, during one scene a man caught in traffic leans out the car window, looks into the camera, and begins to describe a dream where he is sentenced to the electric chair for breaking a family's precious china during a magic trick gone wrong. We see the dream played out, then return to the car inching along the screen. Although the content of the dream is certainly absurd and humorous, his story reveals complex emotions and human insecurities. Likewise, when a lovesick girl addresses the viewer and recounts her dream, we get a personal glimpse of her wild but lighthearted passion for guitar player Mikke. In one of the most visually compelling scenes of the film, Mikke plays the guitar in their moving house, while a crowd of supportive fans wish them the best as they continue on life's journey. The girl's recounting of the dream expresses her deep desire to be supported and loved. One criticism of the film is that because there is no real plot development or overarching resolution of conflict, the film does seem to drag on towards the end. Each vignette is entertaining in and of itself, but without a narrative to tie them together some may find the film too long to captivate the viewer's attention throughout the entire length of the film. However, the filmmaker does make several attempts to subtly connect the characters in unexpected ways. Fore example, all of the characters find themselves in a torrential thunderstorm midway through the film, and their shared experience of the dark deluge unites their stories. Likewise, there are some characters who we revisit from time to time throughout the film, notably the lonely Mia, and the lovesick girl who pines over Mikke the guitar player. We also often find ourselves at the seedy bar. The monotony of day-to-day life is explored in the bar, as every day the bartender ceremoniously rings a bell and shouts for the people to come order their last drinks. Although these connections and patters do unite the story as a whole, the film would probably be improved if the director has pared down the vignettes and omitted a few of the scenes to make the story move faster. Although this film is a clear deviation from Hollywood narrative style, the raw human experiences explored through the characters and scenes is a wonderfully comedic cinematic journey through the life of you, the living. It is no surprise that the film has won a host of awards across the globe, and an overall positive international response. The film cover's description of the film as a hybrid of "Bergman meets Monty Python" is not far off base: it adopts the famed Ingmar Bergman style of revealing the deep emotions and underlying psychology of the characters while also using hilarious timing and dialogue to explore these themes. Overall, this "tragicomedy" explores what it means to be a human in a refreshingly enjoyable way.