Andersson finds meaning in the mundanity of everyday life in this interlocking series of tragicomic vignettes.

His reliance on an earthy pastel palette and fixed frames of bland offices and homes grows tiring quickly, but serves to underline that repetition can provide both comfort and boredom to us all.

Into these dull scenarios Andersson introduces a deadpan cast who walk the line between misery and happiness, but it’s the surreal touches he throws in – such as the appearance of 18th-century ruler King Charles XII of Sweden in the modern day – that come closest to representing any “meaning” of life.

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch is an entertaining and occasionally insightful exploration of life, death, and all the surreal bits in between.

RATING: 4/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Holger Andersson, Nils Westblom, Viktor Gyllenberg, Ola Stensson

DIRECTOR: Roy Andersson

WRITER: Roy Andersson 

SYNOPSIS: A story centred on a pair of traveling salesmen who peddle novelty items.