Chansons du deuxième étage

I would just like to say that, those who don´t like this movie must have a heart of stone and a mind that´s so blocked that you can´t see the connections to our society and the ways of man. Our loneliness, our longing for love, our inability to communicate. This film broke my heart, but at the same time it was a wholesome experience, and I was glued to the screen for as long as it lasted. I will never forget the pictures from this film, they still linger inside of me. It´s just so beautiful.

I recommend everyone to see this film! If you´re prepared for an inner journey.(And I know that some people are afraid of this kind of "deep" stuff)Not if you just want entertainment for the moment. If you want to see an action-loaded flick or a nice love comedy instead, fine, do so. But I say: If you´ll only see one and only one more film in your life, see this one!

Possibly incomprehensible to those who have never lived in Sweden, where whole hours somehow manage to lose themselves in a meditative calm that exists nowhere else. Songs from the Second Floor is truly Ingemar Bergman meets Monty Python, as Roy Andersson non too gently deflates the pretentious, the pompous and the self important. The sparse dialogue and hugely tongue-in-cheek solemnity will either offend the spectator to the point of rage, or scratch the itch that nothing else quite reaches. I adored it. Like raw oysters, broccoli or goat milk - you'll either connect with the Roy Andersson brand of iconoclastic insanity and love this one ... or you'll hate it with a passion. There'll be no fence-sitting with this Nordic treasure.

I have only seen this movie once and that is certainly not enough. The pictures contain more than our perception can handle. The general impression of the film is however, that Roy Andersson has performed a splendid diagnosis of our society, a society whose individuals no longer communicate, no longer interact. He shows us the result of a system that proclaims egoism and neglect. The message is clear: Only together, people can find a way to endure the tragedy of life, only together, we can enjoy the small fragments of happiness that life offers.

I encourage all non-Swedish people to see this film, 99,84% of the world population is not Swedish. This movie concerns all of you.

This film makes you probably sad and depressed, but it is a wonderful and touching movie about the misery of human life: the ultimate loneliness and hopelessness, which we do not like to think of, but have to face. As the film is based on poetry (by the to me unknown Cesar Vallejo), it does not have a straightforward story. Rather, it is a collection of scenes that all move you at an emotional level, as you see the vulnerability of all the people. The film is moving from reality towards surrealism, although you could see the strong surrealistic pictures as the real and hidden nature of our society, which fails to offer any help to these eternal problems. I should probably go to see this movie again so that I could grasp more from its symbolism, enjoy its excellent and unique film-making, and last but not least to feel it again. This film does not give you hope, but perhaps it makes you more sympathetic to other people, let them be alcoholics, immigrants, old, stupid, mentally ill or just simple "boring philistines".

Songs From The Second Floor has been described as a poem put to film, but after viewing this emotional work of art, I can't help but to feel that a Swedish Opera put to film is a more accurate description.

Directed and written by Roy Anderson, Songs From The Second Floor is a visual and emotional masterpiece. Showing Swedish and to a greater extent all of society, through grey colored glasses.

The cast primarily consists of non actors who made an impression on Roy upon him seeing them in everyday life. All of whom make similar impressions on us the viewers upon seeing them in this film.

Kalle (Lars Nordh) is the heart and star of this movie. It's through his story (one of several) that we fully experience this Swedish Opera. The pain, sadness, guilt, and hopelessness of Songs From The Second Floor, can be felt in every slow moving moment of his life.

Religion, love, poverty, and poetry are all common themes throughout this film. Giving it an identity all of it's own. You could watch a hundred films with similar descriptions, and still consider Songs From The Second Floor the strangest and most original film you've ever seen......Highly recommended for those who liked Northfork and Russian Ark.