You, the Living (2007) on Netflix
In the Swedish city of Lethe, short sketches pass before the camera. Mia grieves, Anna hunts for her rock idol Micke Larsson, and a psychiatrist hands out nothing but pills.
- Netflix4.3/5
- IMDb7.4/1017,102 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes98%
Trailer
Plot summary
In Lethe, a Swedish city, brief sketches rush past a cast of characters from all over town. Anna, a groupie, finds rock guitarist Micke Larsson in a tavern and dreams of a wedding in an apartment building that travels by rail. A psychiatrist no longer believes people can be happy, so he writes prescriptions for pills instead. A businessman in a restaurant boasts of his success while a pickpocket lifts his wallet. A carpenter dreams he is condemned for breaking a two-hundred-year-old china set during a tablecloth trick. Mia complains of her misfortunes while her boyfriend Uffe tries to console her. A man wakes from a dream about bomber planes, and Dixieland jazz is played on camera.
Cast
- Håkan Angseras The Psychiatrist
- Eric Bäckmanas Micke Larsson
- Patrik Anders Edgrenas Professor (as Patrik Edgren)
- Björn Englundas Tubaplayer
- Lennart Erikssonas Man on the balcony
- Pär Fredrikssonas The carpet dealer
- Elisabeth Helanderas Mia (as Elisabet Helander)
- Gunnar Ivarssonas The businessman
- Leif Larssonas Carpenter
- Jessika Lundbergas Anna
- Jörgen Nohallas Uffe (as Jugge Nohall)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about You, the Living (2007)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Financing You, the Living was so difficult that Roy Andersson made regular trips to a pawn shop, and the team halted production several times to shoot commercials, spending the proceeds on the film.
- After the Swedish Film Institute refused funding, Roy Andersson accused its consultant of nepotism, saying the money went to a film directed by the consultant's father-in-law, which then got poor reviews.
- Roy Andersson asked former ABBA member Benny Andersson, who had scored Songs from the Second Floor, to compose the music, but he was busy with the Mamma Mia! film adaptation and declined.
- No computer-generated imagery was used: the city seen from above in the final shot was a large model built solely for that scene.
- For the cast, Roy Andersson or an assistant approached people on the street and asked them to take part; amateurs were preferred, partly because it was awkward to ask renowned actors to take small parts.
- The one scene not shot in Roy Andersson's studio was a bus shelter in heavy rain, filmed outdoors because of the huge amount of running water it required.
- The hymn "Jag har hört om en stad ovan molnen", often played at Swedish funerals, was planned for the ending, but Roy Andersson chose a more energizing jazz tune instead.
