02.12.25, 20:30, You, The Living (2007)

You, the Living by Swedish director Roy Andersson is an absurdist film in the form of a mosaic with separate pastel-coloured vignettes. In these dryly comical tableaux, we are introduced to the ordinary residents of the sleepy town of Lethe. They break through the fourth wall and show us their fears and desires: a woman dreams of a honeymoon with a rock guitarist, a man wakes up from a nightmare about bombers, and a pompous businessman is robbed by a pickpocket without noticing.

This film is the second part of Andersson's ‘Living’ trilogy, together with Songs from the Second Floor (2000) and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014). Almost all scenes were filmed in Andersson's own studio in Stockholm, where he meticulously built sets to realise his unique, painterly style. The result is a poetic and melancholic portrait of human existence. A dose of Swedish humour and heaviness go hand in hand to the sounds of a tuba and military marching music.

This screening will be introduced by teacher Scandinavian Studies Joksie Biesemans.