Overview
A surreal exploration of the human experience through absurdity and humor.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- deadpan
- melancholic
- surreal
- arthouse film night
- reflective evening
What critics said
Critics broadly celebrated Roy Andersson's eccentric, rigorously composed, highly entertaining sketches of human behavior, while some found the episodic arrangement repetitive and loosely connected.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The film presents a series of largely independent scenes focused on different people, emotions, and actions.
Unglamorous daily habits and social frustrations are amplified into absurd, often hilarious situations.
The scenes are presented as meticulously composed, sustained tableaux with limited camera movement and controlled staging.
Individual characters function as fragments of a wider portrait of human nature and the collective unconscious.
Films like You, the Living, and why
Songs from the Second Floor
Shared deadpan absurdism, episodic structure, and compassionate attention to ordinary human behavior.
The Square
Shared surreal social observation, static compositions, existential melancholy, and darkly comic treatment of everyday life.
Naked
Shared sketch-like storytelling, philosophical humor, and eccentric portraits of alienated people.
The Lobster
Shared absurdist comedy, theatrical staging, and emotionally distanced examination of human relationships.
Movie Details
- Director
- Roy Andersson
- Release Date
- 2007-09-21
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 7.1 / 10 (267)
Cast
- Håkan Angser
- Eric Bäckman
- Patrik Anders Edgren
- Björn Englund
- Lennart Eriksson
- Pär Fredriksson
- Elisabeth Helander
- Gunnar Ivarsson
- Leif Larsson
- Jessika Lundberg
Common questions
- What is You, the Living about?
- A meticulously composed Swedish mosaic turns ordinary loneliness, social awkwardness, and human folly into deadpan comic poetry.
- What is You, the Living like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of You, the Living as measured, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is You, the Living violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in You, the Living.
- What did critics think of You, the Living?
- Critics broadly celebrated Roy Andersson's eccentric, rigorously composed, highly entertaining sketches of human behavior, while some found the episodic arrangement repetitive and loosely connected.
- Which films are like You, the Living?
- Films with a similar feel include Songs from the Second Floor, The Square, Naked, and The Lobster.
- How long is You, the Living?
- You, the Living runs 93 minutes.
