Why I chose this movie
I saw a comment on the trailer for Monsta X’s EP The Phase saying that the cinematic style reminds them of this movie, and I was intrigued because why would you say no to reflecting on your own existence.
Synopsis
Just as its opening title “This is the final part of a trilogy about being a human being” states, the film traverses between 2 absurdist yet hyperealistic stories about humanity (or lack thereof). One about 2 novelty toy salesmen and one about Charles XII of Sweden carrying out his disastrous battles in modern settings such as cafés.
Review
The film opens with “Three Meetings with Death.” In each vignette someone is dying while the people around them remain absorbed in their own concerns: a man suffers a heart attack while his wife cheerfully continues cooking; a woman lies on her deathbed while her relatives argue over the inheritance; a dead man lies on the floor in the cafeteria of a cruise ship and the cashier asked if anyone wants to take the food he had just ordered but unfortunately couldn’t eat.
Charles XII’s storyline centers on the Battle of Poltava, where the combined Swedish and Ukrainian Cossack forces were defeated by Russia—an event that marked the beginning of Russian military dominance over Ukraine. The film’s 2014 release makes the parallel feel especially pointed.
Near the end comes a scene of enslaved people being burned alive, used as a stark metaphor for the Boliden company’s exploitation in Africa.
Running through all of this is a quiet, sharp critique of modern life. Society has become so Tayloristic that individuals are reduced to small cogs in an industrial machine, leaving them powerless and numb to the cruelty around them. That numbness is reflected in the polite falsehood repeated by different characters throughout the film: “I’m happy to hear that you are doing fine.”
And finally, I love the Edward Hopper-esque compositions that carry this emotional weight visually.
Metadata
- Director: Roy Andersson
- Release year: 2014
- Language: Swedish