LastingAware
The greatest movie ever!
Aubrey Hackett
While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.
Asad Almond
A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.
Quiet Muffin
This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.
framptonhollis
"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" is a recent Swedish dark comedy drama from filmmaker Roy Andersson. It is the third film in a trilogy, and after having seen this masterpiece, I really, really do won't to experience the first two films of this trilogy. I've seen the trailers for the previous two film, and all three films seem to have the same style of filmmaking, and if you aren't into that style of filmmaking, you simply will not like the film, and I know that there are plenty of people that will HATE that style of filmmaking, which is perfectly understandable! The film is targeted at a specific audience, an audience that I seem to be a part of.The film's humor is greatly absurd and deadpan. The very opening of the film perfectly presents the films dark and strange sense of humor. It shows three different scenarios involving death, and finds the humor in all of them.While the film is hilarious, it still has a very emotional side to it. It perfectly balances comedy and drama in a pretty episodic format.There isn't much of a story. It follows two struggling salesmen as they try to sell products, running into many absurd events. It shows their many failures in both a dramatic and humorous light.Overall, this is an excellent film that many people won't really get into. If you watch the trailer, and think you won't like it, then just don't watch the movie!
adeegan
I'm not sure why this film is given such a lenient treatment by the critics, in a word it's awful. Any episode of Monty Python supersedes it by miles. Are we being taken for a ride by the director and the critics? I think so. Boring, yes, but also lacking in any depth. No, I won't accept that there are any subtleties. It makes The Turin Horse look like an action film. Maybe it's a good thing that I didn't see the first two of the series. Perhaps I should read up on Swedish history first? Anyway I hope to see others criticise my comments to make me change my mind but for the moment this DVD will go to the bottom of my list.
Sergeant_Tibbs
Someone give Roy Andersson a big bucket of money, he doesn't deserve to have to wait 7 years to come out with new 100 minutes portions of bliss. I adore the two other films of his loosely connected but stylistically similar trilogy, Songs From The Second Floor and You, The Living. Densely packed with vignettes of characters who dip in and out of free-flowing narratives, they're the type of films you remember for a mood or a moment, rather than the dramatic moments, or Andersson's point. A Pigeon Sat On A Branch Reflecting On Existence is both the most cryptic and simple of the three, if its theme can only be taken at face value given that it's too on-the-nose to be Andersson's only reason for the film. It's a film about people's lack of empathy for others and the film derives humorous and tragic scenarios from that idea. Most really work, some feel mean-spirited in hindsight, and a couple perhaps misfire. It could have used a little more meat, but its bare bones package works with the flawless photography, production design and music presented in stunning static wide shots. Hope the next 7 years goes quickly for Andersson's next.8/10
ApostleOfDirt
To quote a fellow reviewer that pretty much nailed it: "This movie is the film equivalent of hanging an Ikea painting in an art gallery and tell people it's an expensive masterpiece." I don't know what the creator of this movie wanted to achieve. Maybe he was on some kind of mind twist combo of antidepressant drugs, that made him believe the depressing nothingness is the new funny. To call this movie a dark comedy would be like calling a EST a great roller coaster ride. It's not comedy. It's not dark. It is time wasting, random pile of boring scenes. Nothing to learn, just the feeling of what am I doing here, why would anyone in their right mind wanna watch this. If nothing else this movie could be a nice testament to how a movie can be bloated to have artistic value when it's actually quite the opposite. I say to the the emperor is naked and fat. >Go watch this movie only if you need money badly and someone offers money to you if you watch this movie.