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.
May 17, 1997 in Dalarna, Sweden
15 October 1969, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England, UK
September 23, 1987 in Sweden
June 29, 1952 in Stockholm, Stockholms län, Sweden
October 19, 1982 in Gothenburg, Sweden
23 December 1992
20 January 1970
24 July 1982, Los Angeles, California, USA
January 18, 2018
The Square keeps viewers off-balance, taking on race and xenophobia, gender and abuse, poverty and class privilege with a sideways Nordic tone that is both hilarious and serious.November 09, 2017
It's funny throughout - not to say that it inspires many laughs, but it's full of irony and absurdity and is very smart.November 09, 2017
I do not understand it.December 08, 2017
An examination of social context, elitism, cultural bubbles and more, The Square is - to put it precisely - absolutely bonkers. But purposefully bonkers.November 02, 2017
It's laugh-out-loud funny and occasionally just plain silly. But it asks a serious question that seems more urgent with every passing day: "How much inhumanity does it take before we access your humanity?"January 03, 2018
The movie makes the audience laugh while looking covering its eyes in embarrassment for the characters. [Full review in Portuguese.]December 30, 2017
Brilliant satire on the art world focused on the pretentious, Whitney Museum milieu in Sweden. A morality tale mixed with sketches that put SNL to shame.January 08, 2018
Presenting itself as a balanced satire of everyone, Östlund's "I hate all people equally" take is never satisfying.January 18, 2018
Yet, this movie is anything but misanthropic. And while it pokes at the pretensions of modern art, it does not dismiss it altogether.December 23, 2017
Largely functions as a laundry list of scene concepts.November 17, 2017
The whole experience is rough going: sometimes numbing, sometimes horrifying, sometimes merely baffling. There's a kind of artful artlessness at work hereNovember 02, 2017
For all its stylishness and sophistication, "The Square" never adds up to more than its very attractive parts.