About Endlessness (2019)

Swedish director Roy Andersson’s films have a distinctive style and tone, which you’ll either be on board for or have no patience with. About Endlessness (2019; Om det oändliga) follows in the tradition of his previous trilogy of movies – Songs From The Second Floor; You, The Living; and A Pigeon Sat On A Branch […]

You, The Living (2007)

My first Roy Andersson movie was A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence, which I loved, though when I reflect upon it, I can think of certain moments and scenes but not the experience as a whole. Maybe that’s because of Andersson’s particular style, his movies consist of surreal, deadpan tableaus, one after […]

The Magician (1958)

I was inspired to watch Ingmar Bergman’s The Magician (1958; Ansiktet) by Tracy Letts and Carrie Coon including it in an article for The AV Club where they planned a 24 hour film festival line up. When I read about Bergman, this film doesn’t come up as much as a title and it feels like […]

A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence (2014)

It’s sad that it’s taken me this long to watch a Roy Andersson film – I’d always been intrigued by Songs From The Second Floor when it came out. But life is sad, y’know, and why not start with the last of the ‘trilogy’ that includes Songs and You, The Living. From what I gather, […]

Winter Light (1963)

Continuing my education into the work of director Ingmar Bergman, I picked Winter Light (1963; Nattvardsgästerna) to watch next. Mostly on the basis that it’s one of the big inspirations for Paul Schrader’s First Reformed. In that movie, it was a struggling priest dealing with a suicidal parishoner obsessed with climate change apocalypse – here, […]