#4 - A PIDGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTANCE (En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) by Roy Andersson (Sweden/Germany/Norway/France)
The Golden Lion winning film of 2014 is also director ROY ANDERSSON's third film in his trilogy based on the theme of being a human being. Much like his previous works, it is extreme deadpan comedy, openly composed of lengthy still shots depicting scenes that depend upon mise en scene and the natural absurdity that more often than not unfold out of situations that seem to arise out of moments in which usually, the camera would be turned off between events in any other film's narrative.
To narrow down the story of this fictional film in a few lines is almost impossible, as the film is an athology of events intertwined that can only be translated as a kaleidoscopic tour of the human condition, juggling also between reality and fantasy. It is a unique and colourful vision, eccentric in its own drastically passive way, and absolutely cohesive in its overall vision.
A PIDGEON SAT ON A BRANCH REFLECTING ON EXISTANCE finds ANDERSSON opening up the cinematic medium through apparent staleness, with exciting experimentation that arise through the focus of each individual sequences. This is also achieved through a sensible use of music and through the conviction of the style itself, which ensures each event a type of unpredictability both in a narrative sense and in an emotional sense - the film might even shock a times with drastic changes in tone.
Overall, it is driven by irony and absurdity, and its playful directness is as scary as it is engrossing, meditative and disconcerting.