
Sam and Jonathan, a pair of hapless novelty salesmen, take us on a kaleidoscopic tour of the human condition, unfolding in absurdist episodes: a sing-along at a 1940s beer hall, a randy flamenco teacher, a thirsty King Charles XII of Sweden en route to battle, and more slices of reality and fantasy.... (Full plot summary below)
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Sam and Jonathan, a pair of hapless novelty salesmen, take us on a kaleidoscopic tour of the human condition, unfolding in absurdist episodes: a sing-along at a 1940s beer hall, a randy flamenco teacher, a thirsty King Charles XII of Sweden en route to battle, and more slices of reality and fantasy.
Leave your thoughts about A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence.
| FILMINK (Australia)Julian WoodYou either get it or you don't. For those who do, there is a life-affirming oddness and sweetness to be found. |
| Reverse ShotAdam NaymanI'm sympathetic enough to Andersson's project and his sensibility to concede after several months of disappointed reflection that Pigeon's redundancy is merely a case of diminished artistic returns than a lazy repackaging job. |
| Dare DanielDaniel BarnesAndersson doesn't move the camera or cut within the sequences, instead emphasizing composition and interior space, and allowing us to dwell on the dark, occasionally horrifying absurdity of the scenes. |
| GrantlandWesley MorrisIf you've ever wondered, "What if Ingmar Bergman directed Upright Citizens Brigade?" then Andersson is the director for you. |
| Irish TimesTara BradyThe kitchen-sink realism is actually set-bound and masks sneaky absurdist tendencies. Still life? Hardly. |
| The SkinnyChris FyvieProfound but never oppressive, (Andersson's) thought-provoking and ostensibly dark thesis is of civilisation trundling along in perennial fug. |
| Slant MagazineJake ColeThis is the first of Andersson's movies to actually feel like a full feature and not a linked anthology, yet it's the one that works the least well as a cohesive statement. |
| Daily Telegraph (UK)Robbie CollinYou just have to watch it, then grab a net and try to coax your soul back down from the ceiling. |
| Hollywood ReporterDeborah YoungThough it abounds in the kind of sardonic humor intrinsic to life’s absurdities, the film is rarely laugh-out-loud funny. In a nutshell, quiet desperation prevails. |
| GuardianPeter BradshawWhat an incredible film-maker Andersson is - he has created an entirely unique epic movie-cycle that has to be seen to be believed. |