One evening, somewhere in our hemisphere, a strange series of events take place: a clerk is made redundant in a degrading manner; an immigrant is violently attacked in the street; a magician makes a disastrous mess of his number ... In the midst of this mayhem one person stands out - it is Karl and his face is covered in ashes. He has just put a match to his furniture store to get the insurance money. No one can get a wink of sleep that night. The following day the signs of pending chaos are starting to be felt as the madness grips a board of directors and the city itself is paralysed by a horrendous traffic jam.

While at the beginning of the millennium, everyone is losing it, Karl is gradually becoming conscious of the absurdity of the world and realises just how difficult it is to be human...

What SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR should do, as all art should, is to make life and lliving conditions clearer and more obvious to everyone. Take the scene "Oracle in the Solarium" which represents humiliation. It is possible that neither the man humiliating nor the man being humiliated is aware of the absurdity of the situation. However, as viewers, we can plainly see its injustice. The artistry here is in the representation. When you watch this film, you are really taking a serious look at yourself.

One of the main themes is the question of respect versus humiliation. Jesus expressed the same concerns when preaching from the mountain top, this was an episode of great inspirational value to me. The characters in the film all share the fact that they are weak and vulnerable. Jesus’ sermon is an expression of absolute respect for the weak and vulnerable man who is threatened by forces that humiliate him and strangle his potential.

There are many different kinds of humiliation. Even one's own heritage can be the cause of humiliation. We all swim in this soup of absurd values and absurd heritage. Perhaps we should start accepting our responsibility for the circumstances leaving us helpless. I believe that the Western way of life inhibits human potential. When you watch SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR you should understand just how stupidly man behaves. Chaos is constantly encroaching, becoming increasingly real.

As difficult as it may be to portray the problems of our society, let alone solve them, I hope this film will help provide a sight and reference for discussion. That is why I believe this film must achieve the kind of quality you will always be drawn to, just as you can look at a Van Gogh or hear a piece by Beethoven over and over again. Although it may sound pretentious, there must be eternal references even in film; as a director I feel responsibility to strive to reach that level.

Roy Andersson was born in Gothenburg, Sweden in 1943. He studied Literature then Film, graduating with a diploma from the Swedish Film Institute in 1969. The following year he completed his first full length feature, A SWEDISH LOVE STORY which won the Grand Prix at the Berlin International Film Festival.

GILIAP, his second film was presented at the Director's Fortnight of the Cannes Film Festival in 1976. His working methods differ radically from the conventional ones, and so in 1975 he made the decision to produce his own films.

That same year Roy Andersson started to work making unusual and somewhat happening commercials in which he developed a very personal style — staging the stereotypes of our society in long shots, taken at a wide angle, in a single take and a rather burlesque manner.

Those films have been presented with the most important awards, notably eight Golden Lions at Cannes.
In 1981 he founded Studio 24, an independent production company based right in the heart of Stockholm, specially designed to accommodate to his needs. Equipped with two sets, an editing studio, sound studio, a film theatre, a scene dock and wardrobe and particularly with a loyal team, this convivial workshop allows Roy Andersson to produce and make his films in total freedom and thus affords the filmmaker a unique position in the film industry. SOMETHING HAPPENED (1987), then WORLD OF GLORY (1991) allowed him to polish his style and master his sequence planning.

His two shorts made the international festival circuit and returned with the most prestigious awards.
In March 1996 he started up the shooting of SONGS FROM THE SECOND FLOOR which would be stretched out over a period of four years.

Roy Andersson works without a script, without a shooting schedule.

Roy Andersson shoots almost exclusively in the studio with trompe l'oeil, models, special effects in the old sense ...

Roy Andersson repeats, modifies, puts the finishing touches to his scenes right up to the point when they are exact.

Roy Andersson has a highly developed sense of humour.