Songs from the Second Floor (2000)

Occupying the very top tier of the arthouse cinema scale of intelligibility comes this strange, sad and oddly compelling Swedish drama from the turn of the millennium. Written and directed by Roy Anderson the film doesn't tell a story insomuch as it provides a meta-commentary on modern society through a series of carefully constructed, and invariable odd, vignettes typically populated by elderly, unhappy men (often resplendent with white facepaint for reasons unknown) struggling against life's absurdities. Whether it's Kalle (pictured) a man who burned down his furniture store for the inheritance, but who worries about being caught, or a businessman being fired unceremoniously in the middle of a corridor each of these characters is lost and searching for something that seems to have passed. Some characters weave in and out of scenes, strange events occur in the background of Anderson's frames, which are all filmed with long takes and static cameras that invite you to search the frames and contextualise what you are seeing.
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Songs from the Second Floor is anything but an easy watch, individual scenes are often darkly funny. sad or just plain bizzare. They don't always work, the lack of propelling narrative or exposition will frustrate, and the long periods of silence and obtuse dialogue threaten boredom, but then something will click, be it a revered businessman and army hero living out his 100th birthday from a metal cot, literally helpless in front of those he has known, or Kalle's mute son, who is housed at a mental institute, crying silently in reaction to his brothers prosaic poetry. One of my favourite scenes comes near end as a series of businessmen make their way across what appears to be a vast airport check-in area, each struggling to manoeuvre their overburdened trolleys, each filled with all their worldly possessions. Each being held back from escape and freedom by all that they cling to.
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It's not a film I would necessarily recommend, but one that has stuck with me in ways I was not expecting. It's an interesting realisation of a singular vision, one man's angry shout at an absurd world and for those moments when it resonates, it's worth the effort.