A PIGEON SAT ON A BRANCH… – 4PM

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence

Screening:

Saturday, October 17, 4:00 pm,

Uptown Theatre, Screen 4

Written and Directed by Roy Andersson
Sweden/Germany/Norway/France / 2014 / Comedy/Drama / Rated PG for brief sexuality and some disturbing images / Swedish with English subtitles / 100 min.

“The film’s tone may be one of unrelenting absurdist melancholy, but Andersson does a dynamite job alchemizing despair into big, albeit deadpan, laughs, and the ugliness and banality of everyday existence into moments of beauty…” – Nathan Rabin, GLOBE AND MAIL

Master Swedish director Roy Andersson takes up the theme of “being a human being” with this meticulously crafted, dreamlike black comedy. Featuring Sam and Jonathan, a pair of hapless novelty salesmen, we are taken on a kaleidoscopic tour of the human condition which unfolds in absurdist episodes: a sing-along at a 1940s beer hall, a randy flamenco teacher, a thirsty King Charles XII of Sweden en route to battle, and a diabolical metaphor for the horrors inflicted by European colonialism. Ultimately, it is a journey that unveils the beauty of single moments, the pettiness of others, life’s grandeur, and the humour and tragedy hidden within us all.