Songs from the second Floor
Chansons du deuxième étage
Roy Andersson
One evening in an indeterminate city, a series of strange and surrealist events occurs without any apparent logic or connection. A sacked employed crawls at his boss's feet, an immigrant is violently attacked in front of an impassive crowd, a magician gets his trick wrong. Karl, his face covered with ash, has just set fire to his shop to claim on the insurance. The next day, everybody gradually begins to go mad and the signs of imminent chaos begin to appear.
With : Lars Nordh, Stefan Larsson, Bengt C.W. Carlsson
Screenplay : Roy Andersson
Image : István Borbás, Jesper Klevenas, Robert Komarek
Editing son : Roy Andersson
Sound : Jan Alvemark
Costumes : Leontine Arvidsson
Decors : Johanna bernhardson, Max Arehn, Anna Hansson
Music : Benny Andersson
Screenplay : Roy Andersson
Image : István Borbás, Jesper Klevenas, Robert Komarek
Editing son : Roy Andersson
Sound : Jan Alvemark
Costumes : Leontine Arvidsson
Decors : Johanna bernhardson, Max Arehn, Anna Hansson
Music : Benny Andersson
Production : Roy Andersson Filmproduktion
Distribution: ARP Sélection
Distribution: ARP Sélection
Winner of the Jury Prize at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival, Sanger fran andra vaningen (Songs from the Second Floor), born after 20 years of gestation, including 4 years shooting in his personal studios, is the artistic pinnacle of Andersson's enduring aesthetic style. His working methods explain the unusual length of the production. He has no script, no shooting plan, preferring to develop and hone the scenes after several rehearsals with the actors. The film is a free adaptation of Traspié entre dos estrellas (Stumble Between Two Stars) by Peruvian poet César Vallejo, who Andersson admired for his "responsible vision of the human condition". Andersson decided to use only amateur actors, recruited from the street or public places, preferring "to work with people who are authentic and who have a real presence on the screen".