Rent The Square (2017)

Contemporary Cinema at Its Best! - The Square review by TE

This is a superb film that repays second and third viewings. Ruben Ostlund is developing a fascinating line in examining the uncomfortable moral questions in contemporary life.

The overall narrative strips back our attitudes and values about shared public spaces, and within that structure are a series of smaller satires on modern urban life.

The extras include revealing interviews with Ostlund and the principal actors and are well worth watching. He certainly seems able to get brilliant performances from his cast.

Arty crafty. - The Square review by NC

Bit like the Japanese cartoons, you get it or you do not.........alas i do not see the angle on this film being clever/interesting. Was not really bothered about the characters at all. Self absorbed arty crafties, living on the excess of western world................

The Square - a review - The Square review by WS

Some familiar themes from Ruben Östlund's other work are quickly recognisable here – embarrassment, guilt, male insecurity and the fact that no code of etiquette or morals can ever prepare you for the ridiculous and perverse situations that life throws at you.

There are two main threads to the story – one is Christian and his colleagues preparing for the opening of a new exhibition, whose theme is to be kindness and trust. We witness a press conference, the team planning a promotion strategy, and later, the fall-out from a disastrous viral marketing campaign. The other strand is when Christian has his phone and wallet stolen on the way to work. Using the tracking device installed on the phone he locates the thief’s multi-storey apartment building – but he doesn’t know the thief's exact address. His co-worker Michael tells him he should post a letter to every flat threatening unpleasant consequences if the items are not returned. When Christian voices doubts, Michael tells him to "stop being so Swedish" and that "now's not the time for political correctness". The plan works but their actions have unintended consequences later on.

I liked the central character, Christian - he is polite and considerate to others, takes his professional and family responsibilities seriously - but is believably flawed, prone to occasional outbursts of passive-aggressive behaviour and denial of responsibility. One of my favourite moments was when a homeless woman in a diner asks Christian to buy her a chicken panini without onions. He orders her the panini, onions and all, saying "take them out yourself!"

The film is elegantly photographed, with excellent use of light, and makes good use of the large interior spaces – notably in the “apeman” performance art scene in the banqueting hall which you have seen in the trailer. Some may find it slow-moving; it’s not that any of the scenes feel redundant, but they often seem to progress rather slowly, with static long takes and rambling conversations, so that at times it almost has a mock-documentary feel to it.

Watching it at the cinema I found the slowness and the lack of a clear-cut ending a bit frustrating, but it grew on me afterwards. It makes you think about the value of modern art whilst gently poking fun at the wackier side of it, and asks us if it is possible to be a good person in an increasingly fragmented and chaotic world. Yes, it's very much a film about middle-class problems, but I can't imagine a better film about middle-class problems being made this year.

Scandinavian liberal boredom - The Square review by HM

A rambling film; anti-masculinity, be nice to immigrants, spread wealth about more fairly (I thought Scandinavian countries did that already?). A good old liberal arty outing. Sadly it rambles too much; 2.5 hours turned out to be irritating torture.

It won Palm D'or award which tells you something. You will be scratching your head through most of this unengaging tale. Find something that actually tries to entertain instead of giving a lame, hard to fathom lecture. Thumbs down.

Quirky, contemporary Scandi take on life.. - The Square review by Rod

An film for the box marked: "odd, but stick with it..."

For me, it was a story with some similarities to 'Bonfire of the Vanities' - where the upper echelons of society have a fragility that can come unstuck very easily, when interacting by chance with the underclass - in this case, via the robbery of the leading character and his persistence in following it up. I had an abiding feeling of insecurity in that there was always a chance that Christian (and his daughters) could come to a sticky end - see the film to find out.

There was an interesting style to the cinematography - where speakers and 'noises off' were substituted by views of the listeners reactions (or lack of). The film also had a kind of abiding 'chill' about it, where the outward sophistication of those in the world of arts were subject to a degree of murkiness and sleaze, always just below the surface - maybe a reflection of real life?? Overall, were they speaking Danish or Swedish? I could never quite tell....

Very overrated and boring (this review contains spoilers!) - The Square review by RH

This film would have been much more effective had it been kept simple and stuck to being a satire of the modern art world. As it is, it rambles into too many other themes that don't really make much sense all together in this context and make the film far too long and boring. I also found the scenes with the little girl being blown up and the woman being dragged across the floor by her hair were a bit unnecessary, bordering on misogynistic, even though I get why they were there within the context of the storyline. On a slightly more positive note, there was some very good acting overall but even that couldn't redeem this film for me.

Overlong, Flabby, Arty, Quirky, Meandering, Occasionally Funny Swedish Satire of the Art World - The Square review by PV

This film is SO long - over 2 and a half hours, At least half an hour of flab could be cut in minutes, and maybe a whole hour. Some dreadful irrelevant scenes (like the one featured on the DVD cover should have ended up on the cutting room floor. Pointless nonsense and it seems the director getting a performance artist he liked into his film maybe? Other scenes are flab too - some relationship scenes are yawnsome. CUT CUT CUT.

The question ALWAYS to ask when making a film/novel/story is this "does this scene/chapter/sequence advance the plot, story or characters". If not, KILL YOUR DARLINGS. Self-indulgent films like this irritate and bore.

This could have been good - a satire on a modern art world which is so pretentious and arty it has lost all self-awareness or connection to artistic talent (and I have been to modern art galleries all over Europe where neon lights, videos and piles of sand are considered valuable art). Cut the flab or ignore it, and some scenes shine.

Maybe the best film on the pretentions of the art world is THE REBEL (1961) starring Tony Hancock. Never bettered.

Claes Bangs is bang on as usual. And the satire of other arty characters is fun.

I was less convinced by the slum flats/angry boy storyline - I suspect a directorial need for some clunky symbolism.

Should this have won awards? No. But then Cannes gives the Palm D'Or to some real Euro-turkeys.

Not bad but you need patience to watch it. 2.5 stars rounded up.