Oscar-Nominated for Best Foreign Language Film. "The Square deserves to do the rounds. This Cannes 2017 Palme d’Or winner takes aim at the pomposity and hypocrisy of artists — and indeed all people — who provoke reactions without thinking about the consequences of their acts.
"It’s laugh-out-loud funny and occasionally just plain silly. But it asks a serious question that seems more urgent with every passing day: 'How much inhumanity does it take before we access your humanity?'
"The Square is the latest social inquisition from Sweden’s Ruben Ostlund, the eagle-eyed filmmaker whose previous work Force Majeure zeroed in on the ramifications of a man’s cowardice in a moment of crisis.
"The new film, which co-stars Elisabeth Moss (TV’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Mad Men) and Dominic West (TV’s The Affair and The Wire), similarly focuses on the flaws of a male who considers himself above the moral and intellectual failings of lesser men.
"His name is Christian, played by Danish actor Claes Bang, who looks a bit like Pierce Brosnan, a former James Bond — and Christian evidently considers himself every bit as suave and cool as 007.
"He’s the head curator of Stockholm’s X-Royal Museum, a contemporary art institution that seeks to stir and shake people with its high-minded installations. A divorced dad of two preteen girls, he drives an electric car, says all the right things about good causes and congratulates himself for being both a thinker and a man of action.
"He’s about to find out what the road to hell is paved with." - Peter Howell, Toronto Star
"An original, visceral, uncomfortable and essential viewing experience." - Screen International
"This Palme d'Or winner is a meaty film of ideas with instant-classic set-pieces and moments of mind-blowing freakiness, a stunning follow-up to Force Majeure." - Film Jounal International
"The Square is both outlandishly funny and biting-and features a fascinating and sometimes disturbing performance by Terry Notary." - TIME
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