People have been duped into thinking that a film is realistic if each thing in it, taken by itself, is realistic. But the selection and assemblage into a whole is what makes a film, and Roy Andersson's selection is not a realistic look at life. It is a relentless montage of death and despair. Life is better than this.In context, it is just another dreary product of the post-modernist highbrow elite trying to convince the masses that their lives aren't worth living, in the hopes that they will destroy their culture so that they, the elite, can build a new utopia on its ashes.(Also, it's extremely boring. If Andersson had eliminated all of the disconnected scenes, including most of the ones at the start of the film, it would just be boring, which would be a great improvement.)

The movie takes painstaking care to portray humanity at its worst. With thespian scenes, set camera and no movement, the unlucky viewer is led through a series of mostly disconnected tragedies of the mundane and less mundane life, with the actors generally mostly half-way to their grave both in agility and complexion. Lacking respect of death and the dying, death, greed, cruelty, slavery, torture, poverty, heart-break, loneliness, depression, suicide, war, grief. There is no character development, no hope, no love, no colour. In a regrettably dystopian image of a world, Andersson is treating the audience to misery and despair, without bothering with too much imagination. Attempts of understated comedian expression repeatedly fall flat. The end credits come as a relief from utter boredom.

A Monty Python movie, without any of the irony or the humor. Reading the subtitles in a British accent actually enhances the experience. I'm proud to say, I did just that. The colors of the film are washed out and ugly, and so are all of the characters. Love it or hate it, it's purely original.

"A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence" is a recent Swedish dark comedy drama from filmmaker Roy Andersson. It is the third film in a trilogy, and after having seen this masterpiece, I really, really do won't to experience the first two films of this trilogy. I've seen the trailers for the previous two film, and all three films seem to have the same style of filmmaking, and if you aren't into that style of filmmaking, you simply will not like the film, and I know that there are plenty of people that will HATE that style of filmmaking, which is perfectly understandable! The film is targeted at a specific audience, an audience that I seem to be a part of.The film's humor is greatly absurd and deadpan. The very opening of the film perfectly presents the films dark and strange sense of humor. It shows three different scenarios involving death, and finds the humor in all of them.While the film is hilarious, it still has a very emotional side to it. It perfectly balances comedy and drama in a pretty episodic format.There isn't much of a story. It follows two struggling salesmen as they try to sell products, running into many absurd events. It shows their many failures in both a dramatic and humorous light.Overall, this is an excellent film that many people won't really get into. If you watch the trailer, and think you won't like it, then just don't watch the movie!