Being a Human Person – The Legacy of Roy Andersson

The Swedish director Roy Andersson is one of the most unique voices in modern cinema. The blend of making every new film into a passionate, personal project and the meticulous design and building of every scene in his private studio in central Stockholm produces films unlike anyone else’s. His way of filmmaking is very time-consuming and very dependent on feeling right for Andersson himself in every detail. In him we meet a filmmaker who only makes films on his own terms.

In the 2020 documentary Being a Human Person the British filmmaker Fred Scott gives ample attention to both of these characteristics of Andersson’s filmmaking. The film opens with close-ups of set-building showing his method of constructing and pulling down each set in his studio with elaborate discussions with his co-workers about whether the set is becoming exactly as he intended. Then it moves towards Andersson’s musings about art, man’s need for it and his own gratitude towards art.

”Art is important because it deals with the endlessness” ”Art describes the eternal”

He is always looking for the essence of being human, doing that in a vulnerable, honest and generous spirit.

The documentary focuses on the finishing of his 2019 film About Endlessness, planned to be Roy Andersson’s last film. We meet a very reflective director, at the age of 76, physically feeble, unsure of himself and of his art. Much attention is given to his drinking problems that threaten the finishing of the film project. We meet a caring, concerned team of close coworkers, burdened by his at times erratic behaviour and by the thought that it may be over soon.

If you’ve never seen a Roy Andersson film, this documentary might be a helpful introduction to his work. But I do hope that it inspires you to see his other, multiple award winning films. In particular his Living trilogy, consisting of Songs from the Second Floor, the winner of the Jury Prize at Cannes 2000, You, the Living (2007) and A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existing, the winner of the Golden Lion in Venice in 2014. They will give you lots to think about and to discuss about what it is like to be truly human, about anxiety and despair, about loneliness and friendship, about joy and humour.

Rinus, June 2021