“May those who sit down be loved.”

‘Songs from the Second Floor’, directed by Roy Andersson in 2000, is a Swedish comedy focusing on the ever increasingly surreal lives of modern city dwellers. The film is formed by a series of vignettes showing middle aged men in a number of bizarre situations, or normal situations with a bizarre twist. In one, a man rides the subway only for his fellow passengers to break into operatic song matching the un-diegetic soundtrack, another sequence takes place during a sale of giant crucifixes, another takes place whilst city workers process and flagellate themselves in the background. It’s a complex, witty and mindbending film, with themes and visual tropes that connect the sequences rather than plots and characters. Andersson uses the medium to create an atmosphere of unreality that touches themes such as ennui, religion, urban decay and sex, whilst breaking the fourth wall and playing with the technical aspects of the film such as editing, the soundtrack, sets and make-up. Nothing feels real and there is a sense of instability under the surface that perfectly matches the instability of the vignettes. It’s a bit like Luis Buñuel and particularly reminiscent of ‘The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie’ and ‘The Milky Way’ in its imagery, but with an extra nod towards the grim vistas and scope of Tarkovsky’s ‘Stalker’ or ‘The Sacrifice’.

Would I recommend it? It’s not the easiest film to watch, but there are moments of brilliance throughout and some genuinely amusing comedic touches. Watch in a double bill with ‘The Milky Way’.