THE SQUARE (Ruben Östlund). 142 minutes. Opens Friday (November 3). See listing. Rating: NNNN
Winner of the Palme d’Or at this year’s Cannes film festival, Östlund’s provocative, keenly observed take on the contemporary art world is compulsively watchable.
He’s never afraid to push the envelope, even when doing so verges on the didactic. He marries an uncanny comedic sense with a strong moral compass in this story of Christian, a socially adept, self-possessed museum director (Claes Bang of the Scandinavian crime series The Bridge).
Just as the museum is mounting a socially relevant exhibition, Christian’s obsession with recovering his stolen cellphone and wallet bumps up against unforeseen consequences in this audacious satire.
