The Square (2017)

Claes Bang is charming in this satirical commentary on the state of freedom of expression and politics in the Swedish art museum scene which depends on shoots of massively appealing sequences but falls flat when you see them as a whole. Director Ruben Ostlund uses the narrative story of a man (Bang) in the upper strata of society who has to brave the world as he doesn't know it. Starting from the loss of his wallet and phone to the uphill task of managing the museum of which he is a director, he fails to use his intelligence or charm and ends up facing the wrath of the merciless collective world. I am not sure what more Ostlund tries to say here but his primary theme of how far freedom of speech can go and who is supposed to cap it is loud and clear throughout The Square. Elizabeth Moss also stars in this sleek little abstract film that has some great music (Justice, for instance) and enjoyable shots of people enjoying themselves. Special nod to whoever designed the sets and the costumes of the characters because now I want to dress like Bang. The sex scene between two characters is one of the most natural thing I have seen all year in film, which is why I should stress that The Square has some extraordinary sequences for you to enjoy, but as a whole it still is an overlong mess. TN.

The square touches upon so many aspects of contemporary life - is a hilarious satire of the world of modern art & critics; of political correctedness, diversity & societal inclusion; of public trust and moral dilemmas; of power dynamics in the office; of millennials, social media and viral digital media; of love, gender and parenthood. If you expect a straight storyline, you will be disappointed; the narrative is as inconsistent and fragmented as the human psyche and the societal aspects which it brushes in an unpretentious manner. The highly renowned and controversial dinner scene is perhaps one of the bravest experiments in the genre, and is, undoubtedly, the highlight of the movie. The Square may be considered satirical, bizarre, and hilarious at times - but it would be to misleading to call it a comedy. In fact, any attempt to bracket it within a particular genre would be a mistake. Not only it is not an artsy movie, but on the contrary, it is a superb mockery of elitist art.

Movie depicts a quintessential modern society tale in impeccable 1970-1980's style of film making. A must watch if you are a fan of those movies.

Someone got disappointed with IMDB community for rating this movie above 1. How about developing a healthy respect for people whose opinions differ from our own? When we do not understand someone's perspective often times what they say sometimes sounds a bit 'bizarre' to us. A person interprets things according to individual perspective, biases and sensitivities. So, except of couple of scenes, which I "didn't get", I enjoyed watching this movie.