singing

Makayla 2021-12-30 17:17:16

Perhaps we have to begin to recognize the circumstances that make us powerless, and we ourselves have to be held accountable. I believe that the way of life of Westerners inhibits the development of people's potential. When you watch this film, you should understand how stupid human behavior is. Disorders cannibalize people, and the situation is getting worse.
─Director Roy Andersson (Roy Andersson)


Plot:

A veteran employee who was fired.
Ask the passer-by who was beaten for no apparent reason.
The magician who cut open the human belly, the
injured volunteer.
A businessman who arson cheated insurance.
Blocked the traffic for 4 days.
Mobile building.
A priest who complains in front of people.
People singing chants in unison.
The statue of Jesus dangling like a monkey.
Inexplicable sacrifice.
The crowds of marchers
didn't know what they were doing.
The lonely rich general
slept on a bed surrounded by a cage.
Poet who is crazy about writing poems.
An aging society, an indifferent bystander.

All the stories are concentrated in the . The stories seem to be unconnected, but they are linked together by the protagonist Kahler, which is a bit similar to the structure of , and they can become independent. A short story can also form a whole.


Lens:

The lens is very special, it all uses long lenses and does not cut. In every scene, the lens has been placed there without any movement. In this way, the image in the deep focus has to be improved, and there will be an immersive feeling, but there is a fatal disadvantage that such a lens takes a long time. It would be boring, because the amount of information expressed in it is not attractive enough. To be honest, I just keep watching it. After reading it, I really need to be patient.


There are a few scenes that are extremely ironic: the
statue of Jesus dangling like a monkey. The businessman wanted to make a lot of money from the crucified Jesus. When he lost, he accused Jesus of being a useless person who was fixed on the cross. In the end, he threw a lot of Jesus statues in the garbage dump, and his car was still on top of the Jesus statue. In their eyes, money has triumphed over faith.

In the ward, two patients were talking: Jesus is a good man, Thomas is also a good man, but he has no business acumen. They were all taken away by business.

The old general’s 100th birthday. He defecated on a hospital bed surrounded by iron railings. A group of generals in the ward were chanting birthday messages for him. The old man always wanted to get rid of this deaf window. During the day and at night, he asked for the iron railing. I think he is a bit of a symbol of tradition, and now people worship him as a god, and tradition wants to break free from the shackles and make progress.


People who perch and sit down will get love.

This poem has appeared since the beginning of the film. The person who wrote this poem is Kahler's eldest son Thomas. He has not spoken in the play, but just sits like that, sometimes crying. I think he is actually very sober, a bit like Jia Baoyu in "A Dream of Red Mansions", they have seen through the red dust, and Thomas has seen through the absurd world. Want to stay away from that world and get a little comfort in life. But reality is still reality, his brother said: Everything has a bright future. How could he become a hermit and escape this world that he hates?


The dialogue between the officer and the taxi driver.

Life is time
and time is the extension of the road.
Therefore, life is a journey.
To travel, you must have a compass and a map.
Otherwise you don't know where you are?
And our compass and map
are our tradition and
our heritage.

If our history is only time, would it be like saying at the end of the film: "What can you ask for a person, you do your best to fight for three meals all day long," Enjoy life". His attitude is as negative as some others. It seems that he is only trying to spend his time, rather than trying to achieve something, in order to defraud insurance money, set fire to his furniture store; think that in the 21st century, do Business is also very easy. They can make a lot of money by selling them at a price of one or two zeros after the cost. In fact, they are wrong. Life is not like this.

If we rely on tradition as our criterion, will we suppress the development of potential as the director himself said? After all, we still need some personality, like a poet who writes "He who lives and sits will be loved" will not be affected by his father and others. Recognized by people.


After watching this movie, I didn’t understand why it was called "Singing from the second floor". Just like when I watched "Guessing the Train", I thought that guessing the train seemed to have nothing to do with the content of the movie. Later I found out that he was a metaphor. Meaning, I don’t know what special meaning the singing from the second floor has in Sweden.

http://5tigers.bokee.com/3683941.html

View more about Songs from the Second Floor reviews

Extended Reading
  • Alexander 2022-04-21 09:03:02

    8.5/10. ①The stories of various people point to criticism of modern Western society: middle-aged men who are unemployed and defrauding insurance, husbands whose wives cheat, poets who write poetry and write crazy, priests who are on the verge of bankruptcy due to stock falls, etc. ②A kind of "cold" temperament, rendering techniques such as: the characters are all white, all except one are fixed with deep focus and long shots, the setting is empty and deserted, and the color tone is quite cold. ③ This kind of "coldness" is essentially serving the absurd and cold humor of the film. There are many specific laughs (although the level is not higher than 8.5). Personally, I like the team of office workers to beat themselves with whips and throw oil barrels to scare a bunch of ghosts. part.

  • Curtis 2022-03-23 09:02:52

    Looking at Samsung, there is almost no story, and the rhythm is slow. If you come to the story, you will be very disappointed. But the film's photography and composition are very particular, like famous paintings, the lines and actors' performances are very absurd, with dark humor and philosophical thinking. I know another Anderson, I have a chance to read it again, it takes some strength.

Songs from the Second Floor quotes

  • Kalle: What can I say? It's not easy being human.

  • The speechwriter: My approach was a rather philosophical one. About being human year after year. This is how I see it. Life is time, and time is a stretch of road. That makes life a journey, a trip. Don't you think so?

    Stefan: Yes. I guess you could look at it that way.

    The speechwriter: Yet in order to travel you need a map and a compass. Otherwise you wouldn't know where you were. Would you?

    Stefan: No.

    The speechwriter: And our map and compass are our traditions. Our heritage, our history. Aren't they?

    Stefan: Yeah, sure.

    The speechwriter: If we don't understand this... Before we know it, we're fumbling around in the dark. Where are we?