Reviews for July 29th, 2009
You, the Living
Directed by Roy Andersson.
In Swedish with subtitles. 50 vignettes make up this very loose, absurdist film that has a few interconnected characters and plotlines. Each character seems very morose and doesn’t exert much emotion, is if he or she were walking zombies or sleepwalking. Or perhaps they’re all overmedicated to the extent that all the joie de vivre and personality has been drained out of them. Dinner guests at a fancy party stand up on their chairs to sing. A woman repeatedly exclaims “Nobody understands me!” while no one reacts to her. An elderly man drags a dog as he walks outdoors. A woman dressed in a gown spends time with her rock-star husband, who’s in a tux, while they’re both inside a small apartment that turns out to be a train car. A man goes on trial for pulling the tablecloth at a dinner party, sending all the precious dishes and utensils crashing onto the floor. Those are just some examples from the vignettes. Writer/director Roy Andersson essentially tosses narrative structure and character development out the window, much like he did when he previously wrote and directed the similar Songs From the Second Floor. Instead, he lets the images, sounds and the minimal dialogue to generate a downbeat, gloomy mood. The muted colors help to create that mood along with the expressionless faces and awkward silences. Amidst all of those scenes of sadness, there’s plenty of dry, offbeat humor which feels very, very “European”, much like the Belgian film L’Iceberg. Underneath that humor, though, you’ll find some criticism of modern society that’s concurrently poignant, provocative and hard-to-swallow. Sadness, loneliness, alienation and depression are, in many ways, is a part of life that’s not always shown for such a long period of time onscreen. Even two characters that have sex with one another can’t seem to cheer each other up. Most importantly, none of them really show that they care about anyone else’s thoughts or feelings except their own. It’s also worth noting that ultimate scene, which won’t be revealed here, looks quite breathtaking and leaves you, much like the rest of the film, with a lot to ponder about life itself. At a running time of 90 minutes, You, the Living is surreal and absurd, yet oddly captivating and filled with a dry, sardonic sense of humor, stunning visuals along with provocative critiques of modern society. Number of times I checked my watch: 1 Released by Palisades Tartan. Opens at the Film Forum. 
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