Giliap

Roy Andersson: Giliap (1975).

Giliap.
    SE © 1975 Sandrew.
    D+SC: Roy Andersson. DP: John Olsson – Eastmancolor – 1:1,66. Starring Thommy Berggren (Giliap), Mona Seilitz (Anna).
    137 min.

[This film had been seen in Finland only on TV in 1981 and in Walhalla screenings in 1976.]

Official Finnish premiere without subtitles at an open-air night screening at 22.00 in Kesäkino Engel, 15 August 2008. [Focus problems in the open-air screening.]

Roy Andersson's second feature film received so crushing reviews that it took 25 year for the director to make his third feature film, Sånger från andra våningen.

Now it is easy to see that much of the vision of his recent films is already present in Giliap. There is much in common with early cinema: static shots, long takes.

The boy (given the nickname Giliap) comes to serve as a waiter in the restaurant of Hotel Busarewski (in a small town? or in a small district of a city?). He meets the young waitress Anna, who is more interested in contacting him than he is in her. One of their mates, The Count, has a gun and plans robbery. Anna leaves Busarewski and moves to a sea resort hotel. Giliap follows her, but so does The Count...

The film is not story-driven. It is anti-dramatic and non-psychological. Much rather it is a meditative experience.