Rent A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)
3.0 of 5 from 288 ratings
1h 35min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
The final part of his highly acclaimed 'Living' trilogy, Roy Andersson's 'A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence' takes another sly, humorous and wholly original look at the absurdity of life. Two travelling salesman who trade novelty items traipse glumly from one joke shop to another failing to make a living, teacher-student relationships repeatedly become inappropriate at a flamenco dance lesson, and King Charles XII of Sweden drops by a bar with an 18th century army in tow, looking for a lover and a modern day peasant to punish. This is the skewed and unique world of Roy Andersson where disparate segments of humanity are exhibited and coalesce to form a poignant and darkly funny commentary on society and how we should ultimately embrace it. - Actors:
- Holger Andersson, Nils Westblom, Viktor Gyllenberg, Lotti Törnros, Jonas Gerholm, Ola Stensson, Oscar Salomonsson, Roger Olsen Likvern, Mats Ryden, Göran Holm
- Directors:
- Roy Andersson
- Producers:
- Pernilla Sandström
- Writers:
- Roy Andersson
- Others:
- Roy Andersson
- Aka:
- En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron
- Studio:
- Artificial Eye Film Company Ltd.
- Genres:
- Comedy
- Collections:
- 10 Films to Watch If You Like: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Award Winners, Lions on the Lido
- Countries:
- Sweden
- Awards:
- BBFC:
- Release Date:
- 13/07/2015
- Run Time:
- 99 minutes
- Languages:
- Swedish LPCM Stereo, Swedish DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
- Subtitles:
- English
- Formats:
- Pal
- Aspect Ratio:
- Widescreen 1.66:1
- Colour:
- Colour
- BLU-RAY Regions:
- B
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Reviews (7) of A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
Fatally flawed - A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence review by CP Customer
This film won't be everyone's cup of tea. It's slow-moving and fundamentally pointless, which is what you'd expect from absurdist cinema. But for all that I was quite enjoying the short, interlinked scenes, the two salesmen slightly reminiscent of Little Britain's Andy and Lou.
But towards the end of the film I was shocked and sickened by a scene quite out of context with the others. This showed a group of British colonial soldiers whipping and herding African tribespeople into a large brass cylinder, then lighting a fire underneath it. Unlike the rest of the film, the dialogue was in English.
Apparently this was a message about a Swedish company that had, apparently, caused the poisoning of hundreds of people in Chile. The message was lost on me and I was disgusted that the Swedish film-makers chose to depict the soldiers as British instead of Swedish. This sort of thing is expected from Hollywood (such as the church-burning in The Patriot) but to see it coming from Sweden - a country with a pretty shameful wartime history in the 20th century - is intolerable.
3 out of 6 members found this review helpful.
concern over previous review - A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence review by CK
I am not a fan of abstract cinema. Not even Monty Python, so I would not normally do a review for this film. However, given the comments in the previous review, bearing in mind that the director was making a political statement I would like to suggest that the use of English (a second language many Swedes understand) to suggest "them and us" in a film made in 2014 after the previous 5+ years of Sweden's relationship with the English speaking world need not be taking as a personal insult.
I do not expect the British media to remind the British of some less glorious moments in British history but that should not be an excuse for forgetting and rewriting history. Therefore, we should allow other nations to deploy the same stance of:-" that is what "THEY" do. "WE" would never do that". As indeed most people would not ..... unless, perhaps, ordered to do so by "THEM" .
The scenes portraying the actions of the Swedish King are not flattering and they precede the scene referred to. I am sure everyone already holds their own personal opinions as to the ethics behind the actions of the people leading certain corporations and armies.
2 out of 4 members found this review helpful.
only for the despairing - A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence review by hp
Although I enjoyed his earlier film in this set, songs from the second floor, there was something more humorous about it. This one was Beckett at his bleakest: way too down for me and I came away feeling a bit dismal. Not sure there were enough ideas to sustain a full length film - a hint of re-editing outtakes from the previous films?
I am sure you can find something better
1 out of 2 members found this review helpful.