You, the Living
You, the Living is a 2007 Swedish black comedy-drama film written and directed by Roy Andersson. The film is an exploration of the "grandeur of existence," centered on the lives of a group of individuals, such as an overweight woman, a disgruntled psychiatrist, a heartbroken groupie, a carpenter, a business consultant, and a school teacher with emotional problems and her rug-selling husband. The basis for the film is an Old Norse proverb, "Man is man's delight," taken from the Poetic Edda poem Hávamál. The title comes from a stanza in Goethe's Roman Elegies, which also appears as a title card in the beginning of the film: "Therefore rejoice, you, the living, in your lovely warm bed, until Lethe's cold wave wets your fleeing foot."
Plot
There is no plot, but some of the vignettes connect loosely. All the stories show the essential humanity of the characters and address themes of life, existence and happiness.
Awards
More details
| author | Roy Andersson |
|---|---|
| award | Nordic Council Film Prize |
| contentLocation | Gothenburg |
| director | Roy Andersson |
| editor | Anna Märta Waern |
| events | human condition human nature |
| genre | comedy-drama |
| keywords | apartment building b-52 band rehearsal boeing b-52 break build business consultant condemn deathstars dixieland edit expensive restaurant film star jazz music jugge nohall just married married meet open |
| musicBy | Benny Andersson |
| nomination | European Film Award for Best Director |
| producer | Pernilla Sandström |
| productionCompany | Roy Andersson |
| publisher | Curzon Film Palisades Tartan Swedish Film Institute |
| theme | black comedy |