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Songs from the Second Floor

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Wikipedia article




'Songs from the Second Floor' is a Swedish black comedy-drama film which was released to cinemas in Sweden on 6 October 2000, written and directed by Roy Andersson. It presents a series of disconnected vignettes that together interrogate aspects of modern life. It uses quotations from the work of Peruvian poet Csar Vallejo as a recurring motif.

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

* Torbjrn Fahlstrm as Pelle Wigert

* Sten Andersson as Lasse

* Rolando Nez as the foreigner

* Lucio Vucina as the magician

* Per Jrnelius as the sawed man

* Peter Roth as Tomas

* Klas-Gsta Olsson as the speechwriter

* Nils-ke Eriksson as patient

* Hanna Eriksson as Mia

* Tommy Johansson as Uffe

* Sture Olsson as Sven

* Fredrik Sjgren 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."Hoberman, J. (2002-06-02) "[https://www.villagevoice.com/2002/07/02/suspended-animation/ Suspended Animation]" 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."rogerebert.com, "[http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/songs-from-the-second-floor-2002 Songs from the Second Floor]". Accessed October 3, 2015. Anton Bitel, writing for 'Eye for Film', felt that "the heavy symbolism overwhelms the storytelling."

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 89% approval rating, based on 35 reviews, with an average rating of 7.5/10.rottentomatoes.com "[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/songs-from-the-second-floor/ Songs from the Second Floor (2002)]". Accessed May 16, 2016. On Metacritic, the film was given a score of 76 out of 100, based on 14 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews."metacritic.com "[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/songs-from-the-second-floor/ Songs from the Second Floor]". Accessed December 27, 2015.

Awards and nominations



'Wins'

*'Bodil Awards'

**Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke amerikanske film) Roy Andersson (director)

*'Cannes Film Festival'

**Jury Prize (Roy Andersson)

*'Brothers Manaki International Film Festival'

**Audience Award Istvn Borbs

*'Norwegian International Film Festival'

**Norwegian Film Critics Award Roy Andersson

*'Guldbagge Award'

**Best Film (Bsta film) Lisa Alwert

**Best Direction (Bsta regi) Roy Andersson

**Best Screenplay (Bsta manuskript) Roy Andersson

**Best Cinematography (Bsta foto) Istvn Borbs and Jesper Klevenas

**Best Achievement (Bsta prestation) Jan Alvemark

'Nominations'

*'Cannes Film Festival'

**Golden Palm

*'British Independent Film Awards'

**Best Foreign Independent Film - Foreign Language

See also



* Csar Vallejo

References




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