THE SQUARE SPEC D: Ruben Östlund. Sweden. 145 min. Sep 10, 2:30 pm, Elgin Sep 12, 3 pm, Scotiabank 1. 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 unforseen consequences in this audacious satire.
