Eternal and Ethereal Cinema of Roy Andersson – About Endlessness

In his sixth feature, About Endlessness, Roy Andersson revisits and expands on his Living Trilogy to portray humanity and its enigmatic existence in quite a masterpiece. As before, he pursues his interest in history, art, painting, human nature, and cinema stylishly and innovatively. In the most profound sense, one can watch the film and ask whether cinema may depict the depth of reality and our existence in a decent matter or whether the realities we create and embedded are far more complex than 1001 stories of Scheherazade and his astute camera and storytelling. The Silver Lion award for Best Direction in 2019 Film Festival is a testimony to Andresson’s work and success in that pursuit, albeit imperfectly.

The 76 minutes film, About Endlessness shows many episodes of the mundane lives of multiple characters. From the very first surrealist flying couple scene to Hitler being resurrected to a father lacing up his daughter’s shoe under heavy rain, the static camera brings to life and silver screen the nuances of life and intricacies of being tied to the existence that goes on regardless of our state of mind and control over it. The features that repeat consistently are intricate mise-en-scene in which characters are barely lonely and usually in a space with interiors and exteriors. Windows are ubiquitous in many scenes. This spatial design and camera work could mean reinforcing the idea that the flow of life could go uninterrupted from any standpoint and regardless of mood. In one scene, a couple is seen to be sitting side-by-side with a POV camera showing them overlooking a cityscape. In the background, the flying birds show much freedom but the couple converse aimlessly in the backdrop. As fixated by the static image, couples’ lives in the city unfold regardless of their intimacy, quarrels, and moments of subtle humor. Likewise, the city cannot dictate and disrupt the serenity of couples’ solitude. Andersson depicts similar scenes of human interactions in the background of nature, war, torment, and joy. He shows the multiplicities and possibilities even though all carry the message of human existence running aloof.

Several scenes may seem too provocative and unrealistic. In one scene, a priest seeks help from a psychologist as he lost faith in God. In the subsequent scene, he is seen drinking before the church ceremony, getting drunk, and later being rejected from the doctor’s office for being too late. The deadpan and desperate face of the priest evokes the sense of absolute vulnerability that Andersson attempts to depict repeatedly. Our existence is moored in this position of being defenceless against the harsh flow of life and our insecurities. In some other scenes, these states of affairs, jealousy, fear, guilt, and loss, are aptly depicted. Anderson understands that moving image can touch us viscerally as the paintings of Neue Sachlichkeit does to see life in its totality, seeing the splendor and cruelty and being humble at the same time.

In the same vein, About Endlessness carries with a sense of optimism too. A few scenes show the bright side of human nature and mooring in hope, gratitude, companionship, love and resilience. One may interpret these aspect as being to unrealistic as the flying scene may suggest but in a closer look the fantastical elements are part of the same flow of existence and its sense of being incomplete and fragility. This technically sophisticated scene showing the flying couple over war-torn Cologne carries the message of coexistence of opposite tendencies, loss, yearning and unity and the possibility of being able to overcome mundane aspect of life and enjoying the moments. Even one may notice that in the scene in which the losing army marches, one can find the drops of livelihood for captured soldiers and souls who may one day return home or be able to reconstruct their own future without being shackled to any externality.

About Endlessness never gets repetitive and uninteresting, even though the overarching themes human vulnerable existence permutated in many formats. The formal aspects such as the soothing opera music and the voiceover complement and make the audience crave to see the faith of characters and connection between the episodic stories. Further, using various innovative Studio 24 production techniques for set design such as laser cutting models and 3D computer modeling mask and artfully enriches the visual aspects of the film. In his last feature, one can spot Andersson’s commercial, technical mastery and aesthetic culmination and drive towards an ethereal cinema.

Score: A-

© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.