The square (2017)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2017
	Director: Ruben Östlund
	Actors: Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Terry Notary, Christopher Læssø
	Country: S, D, F, DK
	Genre: Drama
	Conditions of visioning: 29.10.2017, Schauburg, German version
Synopsis: Christian (Bang) is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum in Stokholm, a divorced but devoted father of two who drives an electric car and supports good causes. His next show is "The Square", an installation which invites museum guests to altruism, reminding them of their role as responsible fellow human beings. But sometimes, it is difficult to live up to your own ideals: Christian's foolish response to the theft of his phone drags him into shameful situations. Meanwhile, the museum's PR agency has created an unexpected campaign for "The Square". The response is overblown and sends Christian, as well as the museum, into an existential crisis.
Review: As preparation for the Nordic Film Days in Lübeck, I believed that watching this promising movie would be good. And it was an excellent idea!  Like the pieces of art in the museum, the movie bring the viewer in different moral and ethical situations. On The square (the piece of art in the movie, not the movie itself) there is a plate on which is written something like "Ein Zufluchtsort, wo Vertrauen und Fürsorge herrschen und alle die gleichen Rechte und Pflichten haben (A sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations.)". Christian had to explain this to all donators of the museum, to his daughters, to the journalists. Only the daughters managed to focus on this statement without being distracted by the cocktails and food offered by the museum or by the scoop they could write about. From the movie one can have very different interpretations. The communication bubble society is depicted with acidity; the real interest of people for art and its objectives is reviewed via very different art viewers; the limits of art are not discussed explicitely but felt by the viewer through uncomfortable scenes; the abuse of own power by alpha-males; the scream for help and the reaction or lack of reaction. At the end it is hard to find a leitmotiv but I found mine. I saw the focus on "Help!" calls that we experience from the very first scene to the last ones. Woman followed by a violent man in the first scene; kid with Christian's colleague Michael in the seven/eleven; Christian's daughters coming home; etc). And the drama is that the middle class (in the streets and malls) and the high-society (in the museum events) that we view the most lack fully of empathy and readiness for help. On top of it, many scenes show the absurdity as part of the common life. The scenes are not focused on the absurd element and this puts things into perspective even more efficiently. To me the movie reminds of our role as human beings (not only trust and care) and manages to explain the pieces of art we see in the museum by enhancing the feelings the piece should give us with the image composition (the first scene of Help! in the street filled with a shoal of white-collar workers), the photography (the scene "So. What's my name?"), the cut (in her apartment) and the action (Gorilla performance artist) of each scene.
Rating: 10 /10