A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (2014)

A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence (Swedish: En duva satt på en gren och funderade på tillvaron) is a 2014 Swedish comedy-drama film directed by Roy Andersson. It is the third part in his "living"-trilogy, following Songs from the Second Floor and You, the Living. It premiered at the 71st Venice International Film Festival where it was awarded the Golden Lion for Best Film. It was selected as the Swedish entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 88th Academy Awards.

Its title is a reference to the 1565 painting The Hunters in the Snow by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. The painting depicts a rural wintertime scene, with some birds perched on tree branches. Andersson said he imagined that the birds in the scene are watching the people below and wonder what they are doing. He explained the title of the film as a "different way of saying 'what are we actually doing', that's what the movie is about." At the Venice Film Festival, Andersson said that the film had been inspired by the 1948 Italian film Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio De Sica.

Synopsis

Sam et Jonathan, deux marchands ambulants de farces et attrapes, nous entraînent dans une promenade kaléidoscopique à travers la destinée humaine. C’est un voyage qui révèle l’humour et la tragédie cachés en nous, la grandeur de la vie, ainsi que l’extrême fragilité de l’humanité…