Du levande (2007)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Roy Andersson

Writer:

Roy Andersson (writer)

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Plot:

You, the Living is a film about humankind, its greatness and its baseness, joy and sorrow, its self-confidence and anxiety, its desire to love and be loved. |

Plot Keywords:

Bathtub | Train | Loneliness | Absurdism | Song

Awards:

9 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

Jessika Lundberg	...	Anna
Elisabeth Helander	...	Mia
Björn Englund	...	Tubaplayer
Leif Larsson	...	Carpenter
Olle Olson	...	Consultant (as Ollie Olson)
Birgitta Persson	...	Tubaspelarens fru
Kemal Sener	...	The barber
Håkan Angser	...	The psychiatrist
Rolf Engström	...	Trumslagaren
Gunnar Ivarsson	...	The buisnessman
Eric Bäckman	...	Micke Larsson
Patrik Anders Edgren	...	Professor (as Patrik Edgren)
Lennart Eriksson	...	Man on the balcony
Pär Fredriksson	...	The carpet dealer
Jessica Nilsson	...	The teacher

Also Known As:

You, the Living (France) (festival title) (International: English title)
Das jüngste Gewitter (Germany)
Du levende (Denmark)
Nous, les vivants (France)
Do ciebie, czlowieku (Poland) [pl]
Eseis oi zontanoi (Greece) (DVD title) [el]
La comedia de la vida (Argentina) [es]
Nous, les vivants (Belgium: French title) [fr]
Sinä elävä (Finland) [fi]
Teie, kes te elate (Estonia) [et]
Vocês, os Vivos (Brazil) [pt]

Runtime:

Argentina:95 min | Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

Sweden | Germany | France | Denmark | Norway

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Japan:R-15 | Germany:6 | Singapore:R21 | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

4 1/2 Film

Trivia:

Every scene in the movie except one is shot in studio.

An intimate insight into what makes us all human

There is no plot. There are no central characters. There are no moving cameras or close-ups. In fact, this film does not follow any of the conventional storytelling techniques used by mainstream film. However, Roy Andersson's Du Levande is a remarkable piece of cinematic storytelling. It is a touching look at the human psyche.

Comprised of a series of vignettes, Roy Andersson gives us an intimate insight into what makes us all human. In perfectly framed static shots, added with the perfectly in tune, yet quirky, music, Roy introduces us to a host of characters as they undertake their daily existence. Some bordering on tragic, others hilarious, we are taken on a Nordic journey like no other.

It is a journey into the little things that make us human. Instead of over-the-top storytelling or visual techniques, everything is stripped down to the bare minimum so that our sole focus is on the characters themselves. It focuses on the insignificant points of our lives that make us who we are; our dreams, our desperation. It's through this simple observation of others that we can accept who we are as individuals.

The washed out colours and deathly-pale makeup of the characters only seems to emphasize their individual stories and remind us that unlike them, we are all alive. There is no happy ending or light at the end of the tunnel in this film, yet you walk out of the cinema with a sense of life. Much more accessible than his earlier film, Songs from the Second Floor, Du Levande, is a truly inspiring piece of cinema.