Songs from the Second Floor
Songs from the Second Floor (Swedish: Sånger från andra våningen) is a Swedish black comedy-drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 6 October 2000,[2] written and directed by Roy Andersson. It presents a series of disconnected vignettes that together interrogate aspects of modern life. The film uses many quotations from the work of the Peruvian poet César Vallejo as a recurring motif.
Songs from the Second Floor | |
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Original Swedish poster | |
Directed by | Roy Andersson |
Produced by | Lisa Alwert Roy Andersson Philippe Bober Sanne Glæsel Johan Mardell |
Written by | Roy Andersson |
Starring | Lars Nordh Stefan Larsson Bengt C.W. Carlsson Torbjörn Fahlström Sten Andersson |
Music by | Benny Andersson |
Cinematography | István Borbás Jesper Klevenas Robert Komarek |
Edited by | Roy Andersson |
Release date |
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Running time | 98 minutes |
Country | Sweden Norway Denmark |
Language | Swedish |
Budget | $5.5 million[1] |
It is the first film in a trilogy, followed by You, the Living (2007) and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014).
Plot
A man is standing in a subway car, his face dirty with soot. In his right hand he carries a plastic bag with documents, or rather, the charred leftovers of them. In a corridor a man is clinging desperately to the legs of the boss who just fired him. He is screaming: "I've been here for thirty years!" In a coffee shop someone is waiting for his father, who just burned his furniture company for insurance money. Traffic jams and self-flagellating stock brokers are filling up the streets while an economist, desperate for a solution to the problem of work becoming too expensive, gazes into the crystal ball of a scryer. The main men all have goals but their destinations change during the story.
Cast
- Lars Nordh as Kalle
- Stefan Larsson as Stefan
- Bengt C. W. Carlsson as Lennart
- Torbjörn Fahlström as Pelle Wigert
- Sten Andersson as Lasse
- Rolando Núñez as the foreigner
- Lucio Vucina as the magician
- Per Jörnelius as the sawed man
- Peter Roth as Tomas
- Klas-Gösta Olsson as the speechwriter
- Nils-Åke Eriksson as patient
- Hanna Eriksson as Mia
- Tommy Johansson as Uffe
- Sture Olsson as Sven
- Fredrik Sjögren as the Russian boy
Reception
Film critic J. Hoberman from The Village Voice concluded about the film: "Easier to respect than enthuse over, Andersson's rigorous personal vision is not only distanced but distancing." Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four and wrote, "You may not enjoy it but you will not forget it."[3] Anton Bitel, writing for Eye for Film, felt that "the heavy symbolism overwhelms the storytelling."[4]
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 89% approval rating, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.[4] On Metacritic, the film was given a score of 76 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."[5]
Awards and nominations
Wins
- Bodil Awards
- Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke amerikanske film) Roy Andersson (director)
- Cannes Film Festival
- Jury Prize (Roy Andersson)[6]
- Brothers Manaki International Film Festival
- Audience Award István Borbás
- Norwegian International Film Festival
- Norwegian Film Critics Award Roy Andersson
- Guldbagge Award
- Best Film (Bästa film) Lisa Alwert
- Best Direction (Bästa regi) Roy Andersson
- Best Screenplay (Bästa manuskript) Roy Andersson
- Best Cinematography (Bästa foto) István Borbás and Jesper Klevenas
- Best Achievement (Bästa prestation) Jan Alvemark
Nominations
- Cannes Film Festival
- Golden Palm[6]
- British Independent Film Awards
- Best Foreign Independent Film - Foreign Language
See also
References
- "The New Cult Canon: Songs From The Second Floor". Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- "Sånger från andra våningen" (in Swedish). Swedish Film Database. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 25 September 2016.
- rogerebert.com, "Songs from the Second Floor". Accessed October 3, 2015.
- rottentomatoes.com "Songs from the Second Floor (2002)". Accessed May 16, 2016.
- metacritic.com "Songs from the Second Floor". Accessed December 27, 2015.
- "Festival de Cannes: Songs from the Second Floor". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 2009-10-13.
External links
- Official website
- Songs from the Second Floor on IMDb
- Songs from the Second Floor at the Swedish Film Institute Database
- Songs from the Second Floor at Rotten Tomatoes
- Songs from the Second Floor at Metacritic
- Songs from the Second Floor at AllMovie
- Songs from the Second Floor at Box Office Mojo
- "The New Cult Canon: Songs from the Second Floor" at The A.V. Club