Born in 1943, Swedish film director Roy Andersson is best known for absurdist humor, noir, grotesque scenes, and parody of his native country’s culture. He has also made more than 400 commercials and won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the Venice International Film Festival, and the Berlin International Festival.
Nine of his works screen during the Being Human retrospective at the Museum of the Moving Image from Friday, Dec. 15, to Sunday, Dec. 31.
Organized by MoMI Curator-at-Large David Schwartz and made possible with assistance from the Consulate General of Sweden in New York, all events include at least one movie and a selection of Andersson’s commercials.
Tickets are $15. Here’s the schedule.
Songs from the Second Floor, Friday, Dec. 15, 7:15 pm. The film is composed of 46 tableaus of daily life falling apart under the purported cruelty of the capitalist world. A worker clings to the legs of the boss who fired him; a failed crucifix salesperson discards his unsold stock; a young girl is casually sacrificed from a cliff in front of a large, silent crowd.
Tomorrow’s Another Day, Saturday, Dec. 16, 2 pm. This documentary is actually by Johan Carlsson, one of Andersson’s producers. It shows how Andersson constructs his images and manages financial demands while trying to stay true to his vision.
You, the Living + World of Glory, Saturday, Dec. 16, 4 pm. It took nearly seven years to build the elaborate sets and finance You, the Living, a tragic comedy that moves fluidly between dream and reality. World of Glory is a 14-minute short.
A Swedish Love Story, Saturday, Dec. 16, 6 pm. Centered on sweet-but-naive teens, this film was released in its own country as “A Love Story,” but the 1970 Ryan O’Neal–Ali MacGraw blockbuster necessitated the title change.
The White Game, Sunday, Dec. 17, 1:30 pm. Andersson was part of a 13-director collective that made this documentary on the social turmoil and protests that swept Europe in spring 1968. When dictatorial Rhodesia was invited to Sweden for a team tennis competition, protesters converged on the quiet tourist town of Båstad to stop the matches.
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Sunday, Dec. 17, 3:30 pm. The main recurring characters in this mesmerizing film are a dour pair of traveling salespeople who sell plastic fangs and other novelty items.
About Endlessness + Something Happened, Sunday, Dec. 17, 6:15 pm. About Endlessness is the director’s shortest film. Images include a couple floating over a war-torn city, a man weeping on a crowded bus, Adolf Hitler in an underground bunker, and three young women breaking into dance to entertain customers at an outdoor cafe. Something Happened is a public-service short film about the AIDS crisis.
The White Game, Saturday, Dec. 23, 3 pm.
Giliap, Saturday, Dec. 23, 5:30 pm. A man arrives at an elegant-but-shabby seaside hotel to take a job as a waiter, falls in love with a waitress, and gets involved in an elaborate crime scheme.
About Endlessness + Something Happened, Friday, Dec. 29, 3 pm.
A Swedish Love Story, Friday, Dec. 29, 6 pm.
You, the Living + World of Glory, Saturday, Dec. 30, 1 pm.
Songs from the Second Floor, Saturday, Dec. 30, 3:30 pm.
A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, Sunday, Dec. 31, 1 pm.
MoMI is located at 36-01 35th Ave. in Astoria’s Kaufman Arts District.
Images: MoMI