Andersson is not using a typical plot. He presents couple of stories, which may or may not relate to one another. They don't have to comment on each other, comment on life, say anything at all. If there are connections between the scenes or the characters, they are not important. A particular scene can be a pearl by itself. All are shot from one angle, with no cut. All the colours are typically Swedish - monochrome, faded pastels, beige, brown and grey, no intensity (thanks to this measure whenever the director uses a vibrant colour it catches the eye immediately). All the sceneries are very Swedish as well - the interiors are very simple, with almost no decorations, showing only useful items. Andersson shows mainly the inside of the flats, but whenever he goes on the streets, he follows this pattern - modernistic architecture with clean cuts of the brick, faded shades of the colours. He uses all the most Swedish surroundings that he can find. But is he showing Swedish society?
There are samples of life, which are undoubtedly Swedish, there are processes, which can be found in several societies. For the former I might mention a scene with drinking songs. I know, it's basically a human quality to sing and drink, but Swedes have some unique lyrics and games, known across all counties and generations. For the latter there is of course Nazism, hidden in the movie and in Swedish society as well and this may apply to other countries. Sweden is such an interesting case for that - as a country neutral during the second world war, brining humanitarian help, on the other hand having many supporters of this ideology.
Andersson is showing different aspects of life - conflict in the marriage, children taking advantage of their parents, lost love, loneliness, Nazism. Those might be universal issues, affecting all humans, taken up by numerous artists so far. In You, the Living Andersson is playing smoothly with all measures possible. It's hard to judge the movie as a whole, I enjoyed particular scenes. Maybe they are pure absurd, mumbling, overdrawn. Maybe there is a meaning, message, interpretation. Andersson is surprising me with absurdity of life, not always so unexpected. He surprises me with normality. One does not have to be a freak to be weird.
There are samples of life, which are undoubtedly Swedish, there are processes, which can be found in several societies. For the former I might mention a scene with drinking songs. I know, it's basically a human quality to sing and drink, but Swedes have some unique lyrics and games, known across all counties and generations. For the latter there is of course Nazism, hidden in the movie and in Swedish society as well and this may apply to other countries. Sweden is such an interesting case for that - as a country neutral during the second world war, brining humanitarian help, on the other hand having many supporters of this ideology.
Andersson is showing different aspects of life - conflict in the marriage, children taking advantage of their parents, lost love, loneliness, Nazism. Those might be universal issues, affecting all humans, taken up by numerous artists so far. In You, the Living Andersson is playing smoothly with all measures possible. It's hard to judge the movie as a whole, I enjoyed particular scenes. Maybe they are pure absurd, mumbling, overdrawn. Maybe there is a meaning, message, interpretation. Andersson is surprising me with absurdity of life, not always so unexpected. He surprises me with normality. One does not have to be a freak to be weird.