Directed by Roy Andersson (Sweden, 2014). Jonathan (Holger Andersson) and Sam (Nils Westblom), a pair of hapless novelty salesmen, take audiences on a kaleidoscopic tour of the human condition in a series of absurdist episodes.
As in Hammershøi’s paintings, movement is limited and characters remain, essentially, unknowable.
100 min. | In Swedish with English subtitles.
About the director
Roy Andersson (b. 1943) graduated in 1969 from the Swedish Film Institute’s Film School in Stockholm and his first feature, A Swedish Love Story/En kärlekshistoria (1970), won four prizes at the Berlin International Film Festival in 1970. Giliap (1975), his second film, was presented at the Director’s Fortnight at the Cannes International Film Festival in 1976.
In 1975, Andersson started a pioneering career as a director of commercials, earning a total of eight Golden Lions at Cannes. In 1981 he founded Studio 24 in order to freely produce and make his films and it is here that he developed his unique filmmaking style. After Something Has Happened/Någonting har hänt (1987) and World of Glory/Härlig är Jorden (1991), two short films that received a number of prestigious awards, Andersson shot Songs from the Second Floor/Sånger från andra våningen (March 1996 – May 2000), which won the Special Jury Prize at Cannes in 2000.
His 2007 film You, the Living/Du levande won several international awards as well as the Guldbagge Award for Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Picture in 2008. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, his fifth feature film and the final chapter of The Living Trilogy was awarded the Golden Lion in Venice in 2014.
Special thanks to Athanor Films, aug & ohr Medien, Janus Film and the Criterion Collection, Magnolia Pictures, Swedish Film Institute, and United Agents.
About Painting Cinema
A century after his death, Vilhelm Hammershøi’s singular vision continues to resonate with that of contemporary artists, writers, and filmmakers.
This film series looks at a selection of films that highlight his aesthetic and reimagine some of his central themes.
December 9, 2015
December 9, 2015
WED – 12-9-15 – 7:00 PM
$10 ($7 ASF Members)