The Square (2017)

A prestigious Stockholm museum's chief art curator finds himself in times of both professional and personal crisis as he attempts to set up a controversial new exhibit.

Director:

Ruben Östlund

Writer:

Ruben Östlund

Stars:

Claes Bang, Elisabeth Moss, Dominic West

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 33 wins & 42 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Claes Bang	...	Christian
Elisabeth Moss	...	Anne
Dominic West	...	Julian
Terry Notary	...	Oleg
Christopher Læssø	...	Michael
Lise Stephenson Engström	...	Daughter
Lilianne Mardon	...	Daughter
Marina Schiptjenko	...	Elna
Annica Liljeblad	...	Sonja
Elijandro Edouard	...	Boy with Letter
Daniel Hallberg	...	Dark-Haired Advertising Agent
Martin Sööder	...	Blond Advertising Agent
John Nordling	...	Account Manager
Maja Gödicke	...	Marketing First Assistant
Nicki Dar	...	Nicki

Storyline

Christian is the respected curator of a contemporary art museum, 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 passersby 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.

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Plot Keywords:

modern art | stockholm sweden | sex scene | condom | performance art | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some strong sexual content, and brief violence

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sweden's submission to the Foreign Language Film Award of the 90th Annual Academy Awards.

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Goofs

During the press conference, the time displayed on Christian's LCD watch is clearly visible and jumps from 14:53 to 15:50 when we cut to a participant who asks a very short question.

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Quotes

Christian: The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations.

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Connections

Featured in The Oscars (2018)

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Soundtracks

Schipol
Written and performed by Jonas Janson

User Reviews

Multi-faceted

Hard to classify this movie, after watching it at the New Zealand International Film Festival just a few hours ago.

Humorous? Certainly. In some moments even hilarious. Yet, this movie has some very u-boat layers to its seemingly light-hearted making-fun-of-arts theme. Even though it is tempting, I am not going to be an artsy-fartsy-smartarse trying to deliver a holistic explanation of this flick (all I'm saying is: "Swedish society" and "human nature").

The acting is superb and sometimes massively ("Oleg-style") impressive.

My only criticism is that the movie is too long. Clipping some minutes here, and some minutes there, would have streamlined the viewing experience.

A complex movie. Recommended to watch whenever you have some spare brain capacity at hands. ;-)

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook [UK] Official site

Country:

Sweden Germany France Denmark USA

Language:

Swedish English Danish

Release Date:

25 August 2017 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

The Square

Filming Locations:

Gothenburg, Sweden

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$74,233, 29 October 2017

Gross USA:

$1,502,347

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$9,493,791

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plattform Produktion, Film i Väst, Essential Filmproduktion GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

151 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1