A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014) – R. Andersson

Great title.  Perhaps if this were the first Roy Andersson film that I watched, I would have been more exhilarated by it, but since it is the third (and stated to be last) film in a trilogy about being human, a bit of the novelty has worn off.  That’s not to say that the Andersson style isn’t still something wondrous to behold.  He meticulously sets up each shot with actors positioned statically around the frame with all elements of the setting perfectly colour-coded (in this case, heavy with beiges, greys, pastel greens, and browns) and the depth of field shot such that everything looks flat and characters in the background are fully in focus.  With everything static, very tiny movements (or splotches of colour) capture the eye and focus the mind – this gives an existential or humanistic flavour to the proceedings, asking us to consider the relevance/importance/uniqueness of the action in focus.  There are some really great set-pieces.  And, as in the earlier films, Songs from the Second Floor (2000) and You, the Living (2007), the film unfolds as a series of disconnected scenes, wry or absurd anecdotes featuring situations that we’ve all experienced or that elicit an emotion that we all know (such as embarrassment, awkwardness, shame).  The tone is dysthymic but affectionately comic – we’re let off the hook for having also been in these predicaments.  There are a handful of recurring characters, principally a pair of novelty salesmen trying to “help people to experience fun” by way of the traditional “laughing bag”, extra-long vampire teeth, and a horrible old man mask.  The joke is that these things never really work to bring fun to anyone’s lives.  Funny joke, right?  You get the point of the film then.  Worth your time, especially if you’ve also seen and enjoyed the earlier films in the trilogy.