You, the Living (2007) Du levande (original title)

Director:

Roy Andersson

Writer:

Roy Andersson

Release Date:

21 September 2007 (Sweden)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Music

Plot:

You, the Living is a film about humankind, its greatness and its baseness, joy and sorrow, its self-confidence and anxiety, its desire to love and be loved.

Plot Keywords:

Swastika | Reference To Goethe | Electric Chair | Sentenced To Death | Business Meeting

Awards:

10 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Elisabeth Helander	...	Mia (as Elisabet Helander)
Jörgen Nohall	...	Uffe (as Jugge Nohall)
Jan Wikbladh	...	The fan (as Jan Wikblad)
Björn Englund	...	Tubaplayer
Birgitta Persson	...	Tubaspelarens fru
Lennart Eriksson	...	Man on the balcony
Jessika Lundberg	...	Anna
Eric Bäckman	...	Micke Larsson
Rolf Engström	...	Trumslagaren
Jessica Nilsson	...	The teacher
Pär Fredriksson	...	The carpet dealer
Leif Larsson	...	Carpenter
Patrik Anders Edgren	...	Professor (as Patrik Edgren)
Gunnar Ivarsson	...	The businessman
Waldemar Nowak	...	The pick-pocket
Håkan Angser	...	The psychiatrist
Olle Olson	...	Consultant (as Ollie Olson)
Kemal Sener	...	The barber
Bengt C.W. Carlsson	...	CEO (as Bengt C W Carlsson)
Eugen Albrecht
Holger Andersson
Björn Andreasson
Hans Arktoft
George Besara
Lars-Erik Birkehorn
Fredrik Björklund
Conny Block
Lars Blom
Johan Bonde Ferm
Giovanna Bragazzi
Anne Bremberg
Niklas Brunbäck
Jonny Eriksson
Rune Falk
Roger Fogelberg
Eric Frieberg
Gustaf Grönblad
Moniqa Hallberg
Birgitta Hedberg
Barbro Herin
Stigh Holm
Tommy Johansson
Per Jörnelius
Sonja Källström
Elisabeth Larson
Richard Leissner
Karl-Axel Lenndin
Michal Moszkowicz
Anna Nilsson
Magnus Norrman
Henry Nyberg
Lars Ohlson
Gunilla Rosén
Linda von Rosen
Sven Segelson
Lennart Sigwat
Ola Stensson
Anna Stolpe
Margaretha Strindemark
Kjell Svantes
Tapani Turkka
Hans Wallinder
Nils Westblom
Gad Åkerhielm
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Fred Anderson	...	Guest at banquet (uncredited)
Caterina Dalin	...	Philisophy guest (uncredited)
Kerstin Green	...	Tram passenger (uncredited)

Directed by
Roy Andersson

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Roy Andersson

Produced by
Philippe Bober	....	co-producer
Pernilla Sandström	....	producer
Tom Winther	....	co-executive producer
Håkon Øverås	....	co-producer

Original Music by
Benny Andersson

Cinematography by
Gustav Danielsson

Film Editing by
Anna Märta Waern

Production Design by
Magnus Renfors
Elin Segerstedt

Art Department
Magne Pettersen	....	carpenter
Miika Soini	....	carpenter

Sound Department
Jan Alvemark	....	sound
Felix Aneer	....	sound
Günther Friedhoff	....	sound
Robert Hefter	....	sound recordist
Robert Sörling	....	sound

Special Effects by
Christian Niklasson	....	rain

Camera and Electrical Department
Fredrik Borg	....	first assistant camera
Christian Haag	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Magne Pettersen	....	casting assistant

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Sofia Frykstam	....	costumer

Music Department
Johan Ahlin	....	music arranger
Felix Aneer	....	musician
Robert Hefter	....	music editor
Robert Hefter	....	music supervisor

Other crew
Lena Hansson	....	film consultant: Swedish Film Institute (as Lena Hansson-Varhegyi)
Alexander Wadouh	....	production assistant

Production Companies

• 4 1/2 Film (co-production)
• Canal+
• Det Danske Filminstitut
• Eurimages Council of Europe
• Filmstiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen
• Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond
• Norsk Filmfond
• Posthus Teatret
• Roy Andersson Filmproduktion AB
• Société Parisienne de Production
• Spillefilmkompaniet 4 1/2 (co-production)
• Studio 24
• StyleJam
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI)
• Sveriges Television (SVT)
• Thermidor Filmproduktion
• WDR/Arte
• arte France Cinéma

Distributors

• Filmes da Mostra (2009) (Brazil) (theatrical)
• Filmmuseum Distributie (2008) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Look Now! (2007-2008) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Neue Visionen Filmverleih (2008) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Sponge (2008) (South Korea) (theatrical)
• Svenska Filminstitutet (SFI) (2007) (Sweden) (theatrical)
• Zeta Films (2008) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Alambique Destilaria de Ideias Unipessoal (2011) (Portugal) (all media)
• Gativideo (2008) (Argentina) (DVD)
• Palisades Tartan (2009) (USA) (all media) (subtitled)
• Video Film Express (2008) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• good movies! (2008) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"Du levande" - Sweden (original title)

Runtime:

Argentina:95 min | Canada:95 min (Toronto International Film Festival) | USA:95 min

Country:

Sweden | Germany | France | Denmark | Norway | Japan

Language:

Swedish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Sweden:Btl | Finland:K-11 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Netherlands:12 | Australia:M | Japan:R-15 | Germany:6 | Singapore:R21 | Argentina:13 | South Korea:18 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/12

Filming Locations:

Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company:

4 1/2 Film

Trivia:

As a child, Roy Andersson witnessed the moving of about 100 houses from the bay of Skarvik to Gothenberg to facilitate the building of a new harbor. This involved putting the houses on logs and then rolling them to their new location. This is the inspiration behind the vignette of the rock star and his new bride whose cosy domestic scene appears to be on train tracks.

Quotes:

Anna:Forgive those who only think of themselves. Forgive those who are greedy and cheap. And those who deceive and cheat or grow rich by paying miserable wages. Dear lord, forgive them. Forgive them. And Lord, forgive those who humiliate and desecrate. Forgive those who torture and kill...
[...]

This is a wonderful, human film.

Roy Anderson's film 'You, The Living' comprises a series of fifty-odd sketches, snapshots and vignettes set in a Swedish city. Some characters are on screen for just a few second, whilst others appear in numerous scenes and are sometimes seen loitering in the background while another story unfolds. Many scenes are drawn from the dreams, nightmares and fantasies of the strange but believable characters inhabiting this world. It is a fascinating approach: each of the scenes could be enjoyed in isolation, but together they contain a powerful portrait of what it is to be human.

For the first half hour or so, 'You, The Living' is gloriously funny. Much of the humour centres on the members of a brass band, whose music practice infuriates the neighbours in their apartment block. The comic highlight, however, is provided by a dinner-party track gone horribly awry. After this hilarious introduction, however, the mood of the film darkens considerably. The dinner-party dream turns grim when the hapless protagonist is put on trial for his life, setting a mixed tone of absurdity and despair for the rest of the film.

In the subsequent scenes, the unhappiness of the cast of characters becomes increasingly apparent. Theirs is a world where people are unable to connect with one another, where talk of dreams, nightmares and fantasies is widespread, but where no person can be comforted, even when others reach out to help them. The despondent woman with the 'nobody loves me' refrain and the young girl with unrequited love for the rock guitarist, Micke, are archetypal characters.

The world of 'You, The Living' is also blighted by selfishness. An elderly professor is called away the warmth of a vast banquet to answer a phone call from his impetuous money-grubbing son; a thief steals the wallet of a ruthless executive; an arrogant and impatient businessman insults a Muslim barber and receives his comeuppance. In the film's bleakest moment, a woman in church recounts the long list of human sins as her fellow parishioners shuffle out at closing time.

And yet, for all dark moments in this film, the shared refrain of 'tomorrow is another day' points to the ability of people to go on living in spite of many miseries. The soundtrack provided by Benny Anderson (of ABBA fame) seems inappropriately jovial at first but makes more and more sense as the film realises this human capacity to persevere.

'You, The Living' has an extraordinary visual style. The same washed-out, pale-green colours recur throughout, and there is nary a shadow in sight; this makes the characters appear exceptionally pallid and creates the sensation that human life is being laid bare for examination. Almost every scene is captured in a static camera frame, as if these are photographs being brought to life. The few occasions where the camera does move are all the more extraordinary; the contrast between the life and movement of the great banquet form a startling contrast with the deadness of the cloakroom scene. In the most intense moments of longing and despair, the characters transfix the viewer by directly facing the camera – they know that they are being examined and have a few moments to pour out their hearts to us, the viewers.

This is a wonderful, human film.