A Pigeon sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

As Robbie Collin pointed out; "Why would you write about a Roy Andersson film? You might as well dance about a cake." A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting On Existence is one such example. Here, Andersson completes his “living” trilogy – following on from the much lauded Songs from the Second Floor (2000) and You, The living (2007) – with A Pigeon, a film that is both agonising and hilarious, often at the same time.
The Swedish comedy-drama, if you can call it that, is mostly made up of comic sketches, played out in precise, confined, and static tableaux. It’s described as “the final part of a trilogy about what it means to be a human being” and it often follows two salesmen who trade in novelty items – from vampire fangs to laughter bags – whose self-described mission is to help people have fun, but whose dour faces repeatedly result in the opposite.
Premiering at Venice, where it won the coveted Golden Lion for Best Film, A Pigeon reflects the powerful sense of civic responsibility that Andersson wants to share through his films. Described by Village Voice as the “slapstick Bergman,” the left-field director, now 71 years old, explained that he’s “trying to show we have to care for the little we have left. I want to show the vulnerability, and the weakness we carry.” His ‘primary’ mission, perhaps, and one that can be seen throughout his wonderful, unclassifiable films, is to tease out exactly what it is to be human, to give a voice to “the small human being … [who] symbolises all of us. I’m trying to show what it’s like to be human and to be alive.” Don’t miss out on what's sure to be one of next year's most intriguing films.