THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 13
BATTLE FOR HADITHA (Nick Broomfield) ** [Digital projection]
ANGEL (François Ozon) *1/2
YOU, THE LIVING (Roy Andersson) ****
Ashamed to admit I haven't seen Songs from the Second Floor, so Andersson's piercing worldview -- conveyed here, as (I'm told) before, in a series of absurdist (and hilarious) tableaux -- proved a revelation for me. Andersson utilizes long, static takes, his compositions masterful in their compression and reach. Corporate culture, romantic longing, broken courtships, social engagements, the justice system, and retirement, are among the many topics Andersson can slice open with a single shot, his razer-sharp framings packed to the brim with gags and insights. Every image looks sickly and ghostly, and the characters don't fare much better. But underneath these wry vignettes is a surprisingly positive sense of resignation, the idea that life's (often tragic) arbitrariness -- its constant flux -- is exactly what makes us unable to give up on it entirely: as grim as life gets, you never know when your luck might improve. This is a deeply despairing film that never stops chuckling in the face of gloom.
