A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)
- Original title
- En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron
- Directed by
- Roy Andersson
- Genre
- drama film, comedy film
- Country
- Germany, France, Sweden, Norway
- Runtime
- 1h 41m
- Rated
- PG-13
- Rating
- 6.8 of 10 from 495 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
A series of vignettes follow various odd characters including two traveling salesmen as they interact in mundane and surreal situations. The film presents a bleak and comic view of human existence, asking what people are actually doing with their lives.
deadpanabsurdistcontemplativebleakly comicslow-pacedepisodicdetachedphilosophical
What happens
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Swedish: En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) is a 2014 internationally co-produced black comedy-drama film written and directed by Roy Andersson. It is the third installment in his "Living" trilogy, following Songs from the Second Floor (2000) and You, the Living (2007). It premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival where it was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film. It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. It was released in Sweden on 14 November 2014, by TriArt Film. Its title is a reference to the 1565 painting The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The painting depicts a rural wintertime scene, with some birds perched on tree branches. Andersson said he imagined that the birds in the scene are watching the people below, wondering what they are doing. He explained the title of the film as a "different way of saying 'what are we actually doing', that's what the movie is about." At the Venice Film Festival, Andersson said that the film had been inspired by the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio De Sica. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
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Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
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The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
Hector and the Search for Happiness (2014)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.