Songs from the Second Floor

Songs from the Second Floor

(Sånger från andra våningen)

Roy Andersson

  • 2000
  • Sweden
  • Drama comedy
  • 1h38mn
  • Original version with French subtitles
  • Color
The inhabitants of a nameless Swedish town struggle to give purpose to their daily lives, attempting in vain to communicate with each other and to believe in something that might give meaning to their bleak existence.
25  years ago, French audiences discovered Roy Andersson’s theater of absurdity with Songs from the Second Floor, and its somber existential humor. They never really recovered. In a succession of apparently unconnected vignettes, characters made up like white-faced clowns drift through their own lives, in a post-apocalyptic city worthy of Enki Bilal. However, lying beneath the extreme darkness, immeasurable sadness, and Beckettian philosophy, Roy Andersson’s profound compassion for his characters should not be overlooked.

Rebeka Warrior

I wanted to select this incredible Swedish drama as a tribute to my friend Pauline who especially liked this film and made me discover Roy Andersson’s cold and gloomy cinema when I was a young adult. It’s a film filled with empathy and absurdity that describes human nature with the precision of a painting by Hieronymus Bosch or Otto Dix. Roy Andersson has directed only six feature films.

Screenings

10/09 • 16h00 • Screen 300

Presented by Rebeka Warrior

Credits

  • With : Lars Nordh, Stefan Larsson, Bengt C. W. Carlsson, Torbjörn Fahlström, Sten Andersson...
  • Screenplay : Roy Andersson
  • Photography : István Borbás, Jesper Klevenås
  • Editing : Roy Andersson
  • Music by : Benny Andersson
  • Production : Lisa Alwert, Roy Andersson