Lorna Irvine reviews 'a brilliant, unique film'.
Roy Andersson's final part in his living trilogy is every bit as existentialist as the title would suggest, but even more startling.
An array of seasick green and American Tan beige interiors, which are either too cramped or too vast, contain characters who are thwarted at every turn, lost, dying or alone in crowds, failing to connect. Yes, it's a comedy...
With echoes of Beckett and silent movie clowns, not least in hapless salesmen Jonathan and Sam (Nils Vestblom and Holger Andersson) whose attempts to sell hideous masks and vampire fangs are falling on deaf ears, Andersson's wry, detached and sparse dialogue mines uncomfortable chuckles. The performances are utterly deadpan.
There are moments of heightened silliness too, such as handsome, indulged brat King Charles XII (Viktor Gyllenberg) who rides with his henchmen on horseback into a bar and demands that the barman's hand, and that all the women leave with immediate effect.
The tableaux vivants structure is what gives the film its arresting visual power. Shots linger a beat too long, with some scenes, like Lotti Tomros' sexually frustrated dance teacher, played out almost in real time.
Yet there are some truly shocking moments too. The slavery dream is horrific, and an animal testing sequence, both of which render the 12A certificate, questionable.
Life as a work in progress is Andersson's underlying motif--as confusing, cruel and glorious as that can be. The moments of joy, like Limping Lotta's singalong, children blowing bubbles and lovers on a beach provide hope--light through cracks on a dirty window.
A brilliant, unique film.
Directed/written by Roy Andersson. Starring: Holger Andersson, Nils Vestblom, Lotti Tomros, Viktor Gyllenberg. 2014, Sweden/Norway/France/Germany, 1hr 41mins.
RSS