I have seen a theory that the one trait that separates humans and animals is humor, or perhaps sarcasm or irony, I don't remember exactly. Such efforts to support human-exceptionalism have a long history of failure, and one of these days animal psychologists might just devise a clever experiment to prove it wrong. However, I don't believe this theory to begin with, because humor and irony appear to be traits shared by some but not all humans. I have met a few people whom I could not make laugh by presenting jokes that are somewhat convoluted or absurdist. So it is more likely that one of these days some GWAS (genome-wide association studies) data will identify a set of genes that determine who laugh at Jerry Lewis' jokes and who laugh at Ruben Ostlund's jokes.
I have seen two of Ostlund's feature films, Force Majeure and The Square. I laughed and laughed. It's not just him. See also Aki Kaurismaki. I don't know how to explain it, or what the hell is so funny, but I can't stop laughing.
"Incident by a Bank" above is a perfect example. It's actually kind of a thriller. Ostlund reenacts a real incident of bank robbery in this single-take short film. There are tense moments, gunshots fired, a minor act of heroism, and a bit of a chase. It's deceptively simple but in fact technically quite brilliant. But it's also hilarious. I watched it last night and have been chuckling all day like an idiot over the memory of a particular element in this film: a busload of cheering kids slowly driving by. ("3 years of knowledge erased tonight!") Why? Damned if I know.
