The Square is great. It will hopefully not become just a hidden gem, after winning Palme d’Or at Cannes.
I should emphasize that it brings up serious social issues, which are worthy to contemplate about, but it also holds lots of funny moments. (sex scene and the talk after that, how that poor worker swept those piles of rocks or debris, which they stated as art, Tourette scene)
This installation plays an oblique role in the film, not in the centre of it. It is just a tool which will be presented in an upcoming exhibition and a quote comes alongside with it, which is the following (more or less): The Square is a sanctuary of trust and care.
This so called art doesn’t only represent that aforementioned quote, but it’s a symbol of how the classical art is changed by modern art. They disrupted a statue to build The Sqaure in its previous place.
However, the story proves that this statement is not true, because the characters, who are the members of the high class, mistrust in everyone, especially who are below them in the society. There are several evidence.
For instance that repulsive and disgusting viral video which was made by those infantile marketers.
Christian, the main character who immediately thought after he accidentally lost his phone and wallet that he has become a victim of a stealing. It also revealed something else. How he and his assistant (and most of the people) can’t take responsibility for their actions. They tracked down the building were his phone is, and wrote some menacing letter to everyone in that building to give his belongings back. But when Christian realized it hasn’t been a stealing, he could not have apologized to the kid who’s found his stuff.
I also loved how the film depicted pretentiousness. At some point an artist’s interview was constantly interrupted by a man who has Tourette syndrome. But someone said to the others, that they had to tolerate his behavior, because of his condition. On the other hand, this community could not tolerate the Monkey man’s act, who started to mock the audience but later on he got more violent with a woman, so the always calm and well-mannered people became animals and tore that Monkey man apart. Of course he was really obnoxious, but the Tourette man was as well, just they didn’t dare to mention it)
It's interesting to see how this film has divided people down the middle. Genius satire about the art elite or pretentious drivel? Ironically, the same can be said of art itself - it's all in the eye of the beholder, and is down to personal taste. Personally, I thought the satire worked well, and not as pretentious as others have claimed. It played with interesting themes, doing so with both comedy and tragedy. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and despite it's length, it probably deserves a rewatch for a more detailed deconstruction.
The Square is more a series of loosely connected vignettes than one cohesive story. I almost got distracted while watching for the connective tissue, but the only through-line is the search for help and the theme of power imbalance and domination. Despite the long runtime and the feeling of something missing tying it all together, I was never bored, which is testament to the excellent direction and camera work. There is so much beautiful symbolism, giving you always something to look out for in almost every frame.
Rarely do I give up on a movie. Even bad ones I will try to finish to give the filmmaker a chance to complete their dialogue. But this one exceeded my tolerance. It was meant to be a bitting satire about the pretentiousness of art speaking nothing but claiming to have an inspired depth but it ended up being just what it was deriding. I could only hang in for 54 minutes. Despite a great cast, and a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film by the 90th Oscars, this was just a bad, boring, vacant movie. I give it a 3 (bad) out of 10. [Drama?]
I’m sorry to say that it’s a waste of time. The sound track was quite good, but the rest…
We haven't quite figured out how to make this kind of movie just yet. As far as satire of the 'artsy liberal type' goes, I think this is slightly better than The Menu, but not by much. Having seen Triangle of Sadness, the problem with Ruben Ostlund is that he's about as subtle as Adam McKay when it comes to doing satire. So much of this is heavy handed, painfully on the nose and sometimes it's downright disingenuous or stupid. The story is lacking proper structure and build up, and because of that the edit is in dire need of trimming. Yet despite those major flaws, it's actually not an unpleasant watch. The acting and dialogue are actually pretty great, Elizabeth Moss in particular has a lot of really great moments in this. Despite not showing himself to be a great storyteller here, Ostlund continuously finds the right comedic note in almost every scene. The choice to linger on the faces of actors and let their performances do the work is a good choice. I wish that his compositions and lighting were more interesting though, stylistically the movie isn't very distinguishable. All in all, I'd recommend this to people who need/like some accessibility with their arthouse films. For me it's too watered down to get a lot out of, I wish it was weirder and more abstract.
5/10
"The Square" is a 142-minute film that follows Swedish art curator Christian, played by Claes Bang, after his phone is stolen. This sets off a chain of events that threatens to unravel his self-absorbed world. The film also stars Elisabeth Moss and Dominic West and is directed by Ruben Östlund. It is a savage satire that explores the art world and is both hilarious and thought-provoking. The film challenges viewers' assumptions and is similar to the film "Kynodontas" in its ability to make the audience question their understanding of the rules. It appears innocent on the surface but delves into chaos and farce, expertly puncturing the bubble of the art world and leaving a lasting impression on viewers.
"The Square" es una película de 142 minutos que sigue al curador de arte sueco Christian, interpretado por Claes Bang, después de que le roben el teléfono. Esto desencadena una cadena de eventos que amenaza con desentrañar su mundo ensimismado. La película también está protagonizada por Elisabeth Moss y Dominic West y está dirigida por Ruben Östlund. Es una sátira salvaje que explora el mundo del arte y es a la vez hilarante y estimulante. La película desafía las suposiciones de los espectadores y es similar a la película "Kynodontas" en su capacidad para hacer que la audiencia cuestione su comprensión de las reglas. Parece inocente en la superficie, pero se adentra en el caos y la farsa, perforando hábilmente la burbuja del mundo del arte y dejando una impresión duradera en los espectadores.
So yeah, this film... I mean I kept waiting for something to happen, and nothing ever really came of anything. but in the end, despite that, it was still sorta interesting.
http://www.susanhatedliterature.net/2019/03/the-square/
2 / 2 directing & technical aspect
0 / 1 story
1 / 1 act I
1 / 1 act II
0 / 1 act III
1 / 1 acting
1 / 1 writing
.5 / 1 originality
0 / 1 stays with you
0 / 1 misc
6.5 out of 10
Ok, I got the messages, yadda yadda yadda, I just think I will be here contemplating why I spent 2 hours and a half of my life watching this piece of pretentious crap. Really... Gonna watch some (real) comedy now...
The Square is the story of the curator for Stockholm's Museum of Modern Art, how his life unravels, and how this unraveling is paralleled in his museum's exhibits. It's a send-up of the art world and beautiful social commentary about inaction where intellectuals and movie goers will see it and say it's a beautiful social commentary about inaction, and then do nothing else.
The Square’ Wins the Palme d’Or at Cannes Festival - 2017
Shout by andyBlockedParent2017-10-19T05:01:58Z
"What is the point of that? Nothing, that was the point."
A critique of art-world pomposity and self-importance. But also an exploration of empathy.
Gloriously skewering art world pretension, liberal guilt and the patronising middle class.
Horrific or darkly comic depending on your point of view.
Satire of the top tier.
A film by an artist who recognizes art can't save the world. But it can at least help us laugh at it.