Over in 366weirdmovies.com land, this is a strong candidate for their list. That is the only reason I tried watching it. It's the third in a trilogy, and its predecessors -- Songs from the Second Floor, You the Living -- both made the 366weirdmovies list. Apparently Roy Andersson is an acquired taste, something akin to Ebola. I pray moment to moment to my ungod that I'm never so afflicted.
Andersson does these long static set pieces where people stand or sit around, and then someone does the slightest thing. The camera lingers for way too long. End of scene. I'll give one example. This movie opens with "Three Scenes of Death." In the first scene, an obese old man stares at a small dining table with small servings and a bottle of wine. Through a doorway in the background one can just see his chubby wife doing dishes. The man looks back and forth from his wife to the dining table a few times, then goes over, picks up the wine bottle, screws an opener into the top, and tries with different postures to pull the cork out. Finally he sets it between his feet, leans over, pulls, then clasps his chest, and eventually falls over. He lies on the floor motionless while his oblivious wife continues to do dishes in the other room. The camera lingers. Fade to black. Time elapsed: Five minutes.
That's pretty much the formula for every one of his scenes, and the same slow, wonky, "inside joke" music plays throughout.
I've seen the whole trilogy now (with judicious fast-forwarding) and hate Andersson's work with a passion.
Yet he keeps winning awards, and his movies are highly rated. Please, someone. Watch this whole trilogy and explain to me what I'm missing.
Sigh...
P.S. The new Streaming category seems ambiguous. Is that for streamed movies as well, or just for series? FYI, this movie is streaming in glorious tedium on Netflix.
Andersson does these long static set pieces where people stand or sit around, and then someone does the slightest thing. The camera lingers for way too long. End of scene. I'll give one example. This movie opens with "Three Scenes of Death." In the first scene, an obese old man stares at a small dining table with small servings and a bottle of wine. Through a doorway in the background one can just see his chubby wife doing dishes. The man looks back and forth from his wife to the dining table a few times, then goes over, picks up the wine bottle, screws an opener into the top, and tries with different postures to pull the cork out. Finally he sets it between his feet, leans over, pulls, then clasps his chest, and eventually falls over. He lies on the floor motionless while his oblivious wife continues to do dishes in the other room. The camera lingers. Fade to black. Time elapsed: Five minutes.
That's pretty much the formula for every one of his scenes, and the same slow, wonky, "inside joke" music plays throughout.
I've seen the whole trilogy now (with judicious fast-forwarding) and hate Andersson's work with a passion.
Yet he keeps winning awards, and his movies are highly rated. Please, someone. Watch this whole trilogy and explain to me what I'm missing.
Sigh...
P.S. The new Streaming category seems ambiguous. Is that for streamed movies as well, or just for series? FYI, this movie is streaming in glorious tedium on Netflix.
I'm nobody's pony.