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The Square is a 2017 Swedish drama film directed by Ruben Östlund, starring Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West and Terry Notary. It won the Palme d'Or at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

In the aftermath of the abolition of the Monarchy of Sweden, the Stockholm Palace has been converted into an art museum. Christian is a curator at the museum, managing a space set to show a new installation piece. He finds a public relations company to promote the installation, creating a great deal of chaos.

Cast

• Claes Bang as Christian
• Elisabeth Moss as Anne
• Dominic West as Gijoni
• Terry Notary as Oleg
• Christopher Læssø as Michael

Production

The story for the film was conceived when director Ruben Östlund and producer Kalle Boman entered an installation into a museum at Vandalorum, Sweden in 2014. In their artists' statement, they wrote "The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations".

In one scene, a man with Tourette's syndrome yells at a reporter, which Östlund said was inspired by a true incident in Swedish theatre, which Östlund depicted without fear of insensitivity since all people are satirized in his work. The beginning of the film was also inspired by a true incident, when in Goteborg Östlund saw a woman run to a man, saying someone was going to kill her, with the man arriving and acting menacingly towards Östlund and the crowd. It turned out to be a farce, in which Östlund's cellphone was stolen.

Filming took place from June to October 2016 in Gothenburg, Stockholm and Berlin. The gallery in the film is based on Sweden's Royal Palace. Östlund said it was challenging for Moss and West to adapt to Swedish direction, but eventually adjusted.

Reception

At Cannes, critical reception was largely positive, though it was not expected to win the Palme d'Or. Variety's Owen Gleiberman called the film "a suavely merciless take-down of the decadence of the contemporary art world," remarking the museum depicted is motivated by greed, and the film is "more outrageous but less effective than Force Majeure." Peter Bradshaw gave it four stars in The Guardian, judging it a "sprawling and daringly surreal satire". In The Hollywood Reporter, Todd McCarthy called it "madly ambitious and frequently disquieting", suggesting it might try to include too much, but had an impact. Robbie Collin gave it four stars in The Daily Telegraph, finding the first hour cleverly satirical, and a later scene horrific. Conversely, IndieWire critic Eric Kohn was disappointed, saying it tries to include too much.

References

1. THE SQUARE. STATUS: PRODUCTION
2. Debruge, Peter (28 May 2017). "2017 Cannes Film Festival Award Winners Announced". Variety. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
3. Elisabeth Moss’ Drama ‘The Square’ Bought by Magnolia
4. ^ Page, Thomas (24 May 2017). "Cannes 2017: 'The Square' skewers the dark side of the art world". CNN. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
5. ^ Keslassy, Elsa (5 February 2017). "Goteborg: 'Force Majeure' Director Ruben Ostlund on 'The Square' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
6. Asp, Jon (27 January 2017). "Ruben Ostlund Talks About His New Film, 'The Square' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
7. "Ruben Östlund avslöjar rollistan i nya filmen The Square" (in Swedish). Film Väst. 16 May 2016. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
8. Rehlin, Gunnar (6 July 2016). "Ruben Östlund siktar på en guldpalm". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 October 2016.
9. Pulver, Andrew (28 May 2017). "Cannes 2017: Ruben Östlund wins Palme d'Or for The Square". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
10. "Cannes Film Festival: The Square wins Palme d'Or". BBC. 28 May 2017. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
11. Gleiberman, Owen (19 May 2017). "Cannes Film Review: 'The Square'". Variety. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
12. Bradshaw, Peter (19 May 2017). "The Square review – Ruben Östlund turns art world satire into performance-art cinema". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
13. McCarthy, Todd (19 May 2017). "'The Square': Film Review, Cannes 2017". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
14. Collin, Robbie (20 May 2017). "Cannes 2017, The Square review: anxious laughs and honest gasps from director of Force Majeure". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 May 2017.
15. Kohn, Eric (21 May 2017). "'The Square' Is Almost a Great Movie, But an Even Bigger Disappointment — Cannes 2017 Review". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 May 2017.

External links

• The Square at IMDb
• The Square at the Swedish Film Institute Database

• 2017 films
• 2010s drama films
• English-language films
• Films about the visual arts
• Films directed by Ruben Östlund
• Films set in Stockholm
• Films shot in Berlin
• Films shot in Gothenburg
• Films shot in Stockholm
• Palme d'Or winners
• Swedish drama films
• Swedish-language films