The Square (2017)


'Christian: The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. 
Within it, we all share equal rights and obligations.'

Warning: this post contains strong subjective opinion about the best movie of the passing year.


In 1981 French philosopher Jean Baudrillard published treatise 'Simulacra and Simulation', and this work is actually a very important key to understand postmodern (post-post-modern?) culture and society. Basically, Baudrillard talks about finding a connection between symbols,  culture, society and the reality, that we live in. Remember 'The Matrix' movie? I'm sure, you do. And I'm talking about the first film, of course. The main idea of 'The Matrix' is based on Baudrillard concept and it says that we live in a simulated reality and producing many copies of our world and sometimes we even lose the original. 
How is it connected to 'The Square'? Easily. Because, very often, modern art, just like the whole society is a meaningless copy with fake senses and no genuine original on a background. 


For me, 'The Square' is like a breeze in the middle of a very hot and boring day. I was waiting for it. I was so waiting for a fresh, outstanding dramedy, with magnificent biting humor, ambitious and smart script, hypnotizing storytelling and wonderful play. And one could definitely make at least 5 very good short films out of it because every storyline has it's one path.


Art never stands aside from the society. Art resonates everything that is going on in a regular life. If you really wanna know anything about anytime, check out art-galleries, museums, running exhibitions, movies, music etc. Art always resonates and show the reality in the best, but a controversial way. And of course, creates its own meanings.  Documents and historical books,  documentary movies, chronicles and whatever might show you the dry facts (but one should be always skeptical and never forget, that history is written by the winners), but never the feelings. And on my opinion, the picture without feelings is never full. 


Watching 'The Square' is like to look through a keyhole and see everything. See how the reality around us is created, see the world of double standards, see how  'the best of us' are still being humans: weak, confused, lost and lonely. And that we all live in a cultural and semantic bubble. 



I would say that director Ruben Östlund created a great, ironic, humorous, smart, sometimes even shocking and disturbing piece, that we all desperately needed. 
Great play of the cast made the whole story more powerful. Claes Bang (who played the main character Christian) became a real discovery and everyone's talking about him already for a few months. Elisabeth Moss proved her good sense of humor and showed a very good performance. I want more interesting projects for Elisabeth and hope to see her more often in 2018.
And of course, the outstanding performance of Terry Notary as Oleg in the most powerful scene made me hold my breathe and sit in a cinema totally terrified and fascinated at the same time. 


 I don't want to take tome and analyze the characters, whether they are good or not. I don't want to be judgemental. Why? Because I'm pretty sure, that most of us are them. And if we could live their lives we would do absolutely the same things. I'll let you judge. And make your own conclusions.


I also believe that we all should be a little bit less arrogant and a little bit more carrying and kind.



'The Square' is definitely one of the best movies of 2017, one of the best movies about modern art and definitely a great dramedy about how absurd our world is.
I highly recommend to watch it as soon as possible.


P.S. You were dancing to that track in the cinema, didn't you?:)



Small note:
For those, who want to know and understand more about post-modern art and culture (and the whole world around) I would encourage reading all books from this list:
1. Jean Baudrillard 'Simulacra and Simulation (The Body, In Theory: Histories of Cultural Materialism)'
2. Jean Baudrillard 'The System of Objects'
3. Jean Baudrillard 'The Conspiracy of Art'
4. Jean Baudrillard 'The Consumer Society: Myths and Structures'
5. David Brooks 'Bobos in Paradise: The New Upper Class and How They Got There' 
6. Ð¡lotaire Rapaille 'The Culture Code: An Ingenious Way to Understand Why People Around the World Live and Buy as They Do'

Post a Comment

0 Comments