(DEN BRYSOMME MANNEN, Jens Lien, Norway 2006, 95 min., Norwegian with subtitles, 35mm)

In this visionary black comedy, suicidal 40-year-old Andreas (Trond Fausa Aurvaag) finds himself transported to a nameless city, where he’s given a bland job in a nondescript office. Andreas also can easily bed any woman he wishes, but his new experiences leave him remarkably unfulfilled, and he begins planning his escape from this materialistic purgatory. Combining deadpan gallows humor with a generous helping of slapstick, this terrific gem has echoes of Roy Andersson’s Songs from the Second Floor and Albert Brooks’ Defending Your Life, but it’s a true original.