The Square

This decadent and often uncomfortable movie highlights the absurdities and hypocrisies of the rich and powerful, the museum world, and male interactions.

‍

The first bit of it shows how an entitled guy uses his privilege to exert pressure, do a disservice to his high-level job, and skirt accountability. The middle section has, what seems to me, random scenes related to awkward relationship dynamics and apes. While the last section shows the entitled guy slightly humbled. The last bit seems slap-dash. We don’t feel it as true contrition, which makes the viewer wonder about the shoddy arcs of the characters.

‍

I’ve read that many of the seemingly random scenes are pulled directly from the life experience of the director which, fine, but the film doesn’t have a clear through-line. It’s just one visually compelling scene after the next. Which is to say that the framing of the shots is very well done. The compositions are gorgeous and clever, and when juxtaposed against a satirical scene create an interesting dissonance.

‍

If the point of the movie is to poke fun, it does a good job. If the point is to leave us with something to chew on, it fails. It would have been better as a short.

‍