Four Shades of Brown

Four Shades of Brown is the first feature film by Swedish comedy group Killinggänget. A kaleidoscopic magnification of human - Swedish - behaviour and mores, it tells four different stories. A well-dressed man, having just completed his life's work, meets his destiny, in the shape of a little man made out of wood. In the south of Sweden a zealous father tries to encourage his son, by showing him the joys of small animal cremation. In Gothenburg, a diverse group of people convene, in the belief that they will learn how to cook. And somewhere in the north, a patriarch dies. His sons attend the funeral, which manifests strong oriental influences.Sliced in half for a classic intermission, Four Shades of Brown is epic in design and the almost Hopper-like visuals. Swooping down from an opening bird's eye view of the suburban sprawl, its opening ironic gesture, Four Shades of Brown delves deeper in the quirky but often dark view of urban and suburban lives, dysfunctional relationships and bizarre families. The film is tinged with moments of the blackest humour, but also of deep anger and frustration. Its protagonists may sometimes be absurd, nearly cartoonesque and laughable in their actions but finally are treated with great sympathy in an atmosphere heightened by the hyper-real visuals. SF