The Square

          An avant garde dark comedy from writer/director Ruben Ostlund (Force Majeure), this new film, while set in an art museum, covers more ground than just tearing down the pretentiousness of the art world.

           The film stars Claes Bang as Christian, the curator of a contemporary  art museum in Sweden. Early in the film Christian is the victim of a pickpocket scam and loses his phone, wallet, and cufflinks. This incidence reverberates throughout the film impacting everything that follows. It co-stars Elisabeth Moss as Ann, an American journalist and Dominic West as Julian, an artist with an exhibition in the museum. Both are small but significant roles. Terry Notary also co-stars as Oleg, a performance artist, in a prolonged dinner sequence that is surreal, humorous and frightening all at the same time.

           Mr. Ostlund skewers the art world with various set pieces but also has a lot to say about class prejudice, trust (sexual and otherwise), freedom of speech, and equal rights. He deliberately sets up uncomfortable and absurist situations that force a reaction from the audience. There are moments that  will make you laugh or shudder and others that will clearly have you scratching your head. 

            A film like this is not meant to simply entertain. It forces an audience to pay attention and really digest what you are watching.  It's a bold film that takes a lot of risks and probably won't appeal to a mainstream American audience but if you like offbeat and even challenging film, "The Square" is a good choice. The film is in Swedish (with subtitles) and English.