Eavesdropping At The Movies

You find us in reflective mood, as we reflect upon a reflective Swedish comedy, Roy Andersson's A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence. Hopping between vignettes, Andersson's dispassionate camera sits in corners of rooms, its wide angle lens taking in everything on display from wall to wall, as often absurd and sometimes unsettling action slowly unfolds. The final film in Andersson's "Living" trilogy (2000-2014), it asks, "what are we doing?"; and, as José points out, in one especially disturbing scene, "what have we done?" José delights in its sense of humour, the film offering deadpan responses to surreal events; while it's also up Mike's street, the film's studied slowness begins to grate on him, and when it loses him after an initial flourish of spontaneous and unpredictable oddness, it fails to win him back. We discuss its origins, its title inspired by Pieter Bruegel the Elder's The Hunters in the Snow; its focus on life's less fortunate, and how we interpret their behaviour; moments of still