you the living

a cold night in the current city of domicile
so it seemed almost appropriate to head off to sweden
i had read a couple of quite brief reviews of this film
coming down to love-it-or-loathe-it art-house cinema
the film opens in a sparsely furnished room
a unkempt elderly man sleeping in daylight
abruptly aroused by the noise of a passing train
then telling us of a dream he has had of bombers
cut to a outdoor scene of a woman in despair
telling her partner of her unhappiness with her life
no-one understands her and wants to escape somehow
her partners reaction indicating this is a regular occurence
and so the scenes are set for those which follow
many more equally mundane slices of common life
not a lot of dialogue and even less complexity
mostly a fixed camera used to frame each scene
but each one with some common element with others
some characters appear in more than one scene
there's a young woman in love with her musical hero
members of the local brass band are seen rehearsing
the music of the brass band providing a common element
similarly the bleakness of the city is well conveyed
there is no sunshine and mostly subdued pastel colours
several times it is made clear a dream sequence is underway
with an almost identical method of filming used
so at times it feels like the entire film is a dream
such are the almost absurd situations that are included
there's not a smile to be seen or laugh to be heard
as various people tell their stories of despair
with such deadpan delivery it becomes comedic
i was laughing or smiling throughout this film
a guilty pleasure as sad, simple lives are presented
but done with such impressive yet simplistic style
a great feel for consistency as each scene is presented
lines, shapes, angles, props (or not), colouring all common
but each scene a separate chapter in this story of life
no sledgehammers used but many and various issues covered
e.g. racism, ageing, obsession, commitment, mental-health
there's no happy ending and no resolutions offered
but a very clever ending with a relevant dream sequence
the bombers seen flying over the city we have been in
and a deep feeling of angst hoping they don't deliver
indicating a real attachment to the characters
this film could easily endure repeat viewings
so simple but visually with so much to offer
puts me squarely in the love-it category