For Reel

You, the Living

Director: Roy Andersson

Few modern films have sequences as delightful as almost a dozen featured in “You, the Living”, an absurdist montage of vignettes directed by Sweden’s Roy Andersson. The film’s a puzzle about the meaning and meaningless of life, a blunt spectacle that communicates that we don’t know how to communicate. With elaborate, often hilarious set-pieces shot mostly in single, static takes, the film is a worthy successor to such comic greats as Keaton and Tati.

There are fifty sketches in all, although the film is intoxicating enough that we don’t notice the abrupt transitions from gag to gag. Andersson, directing his fourth feature in four decades, is a noted perfectionist, sometimes needing fifty takes before moving on. His cast is composed mostly of non-actors, seemingly united only by cherub heads and depressed, ragged faces

Calling the spectacle outlandish is an understatement – it’s desaturated world is bizarre, populated by perpetually downtrodden souls. In one sketch, a man complains about his retirement fund as his wife, wearing an ancient war helmet, makes love to him. In another, a woman bitterly chastises her companion, suggesting that they never see each other again. He, in retaliation, mentions that he’s cooking veal for dinner, and she calmly states that she might swing by.

There are two sequences in particular that stand out: in one, a man is sent to the electric chair having failed to yank a tablecloth from under a set of dishes. As he takes his last steps to the device, electricians seem to be attempting to figure out how the thing works. In another segment, the most ambitious of the bunch, a teen girl fantasizes about marrying a rockstar. Their house drifts down the street as if on train tracks, legions of fans peering in from every angle.

“You, the Living” isn’t laugh-out-loud funny, but it’s the sort of film that leaves you smiling throughout due to it’s sheer audacity and invention. It’s a work unlike just about anything i’ve seen this decade, and certainly a film to seek out if you long for films by the likes of Jacques Tati.

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