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Post by stephen on Feb 5, 2018 3:38:18 GMT
I liked it well enough, but man, that film rambled like nobody's business. It felt like three different movies spliced together, and if you had docked at least one of the divergent storylines (preferably the one with Elisabeth Moss), it would've been stronger served for it. Claes Bang was an excellent lead, very much the proverbial rug tying the whole thing together. As a film, though, its aimlessness lost its charm midway through, and it certainly can try the casual viewer's patience.
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Zeb31
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Bernardo is not believing que vous êtes come to bing bing avec nous
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Post by Zeb31 on Feb 5, 2018 4:19:34 GMT
I actually really quite loved it.
This was to me what Force Majeure was to most everyone else. While that film had an all around strong cast, lovely cinematography and a fascinating premise with plenty of themes I easily gravitate towards, I felt it was a lot more interesting to read about than it was to actually sit through, because in spite of a solid opening and a strong ending, it just meandered on and on, with a 60, 70-minute mid section that just killed all the momentum it had at the outset before the finale picked it back up. I wonder if it'd fare better on a rewatch, but it just didn't click with me as much as I wished it did, even if I admire a lot of what Östlund was doing.
The Square, on the other hand, maintained all the elements that worked about Force Majeure but combined them into a considerably more satisfying whole, even if I understand the gripes that many (most?) people seem to have with it. It's very, very funny, sharply edited and well performed (Bang is indeed excellent), so I was on board throughout. Yes, it's long, but even at 142 minutes, it never once lost my interest or had me checking my watch; it sprawls in multiple directions, but I felt that all the tangents it goes off on were well-executed, which to me justifies the hefty runtime; it becomes very obvious with its message near the end and goes as far as to have two scenes with characters outright explaining its points through monologues, but that's easier to forgive when everything that comes before it is so enjoyable.
I don't know man, it just worked wonders for me. I'm not sure what to rate it yet, but it's somewhere around an 8.5 or a 9/10.
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Post by mhynson27 on Feb 5, 2018 6:36:37 GMT
Still one of my favourite scenes of 2017:  |
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Post by wilcinema on Feb 5, 2018 7:24:38 GMT
I liked it well enough, but man, that film rambled like nobody's business. It felt like three different movies spliced together, and if you had docked at least one of the divergent storylines (preferably the one with Elisabeth Moss), it would've been stronger served for it. Claes Bang was an excellent lead, very much the proverbial rug tying the whole thing together. As a film, though, its aimlessness lost its charm midway through, and it certainly can try the casual viewer's patience. Yep, there's too much and it fails to make a cohesive movie of itself. I actually thought the storyline that didn't quite work was the one with the kid, it felt kind of forced, even though Ostlund has a taste for farce and it wasn't as jarring as it could have been. |
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Post by ingmarhepburn on Feb 5, 2018 14:00:28 GMT
One of the funniest and most entertaining films of the year.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 5, 2018 14:36:19 GMT
Can't wait to watch it again
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Post by pessimusreincarnated on Feb 6, 2018 14:40:22 GMT
I thought it was pretty good. Not nearly as finely-tuned or razor-sharp as Force Majuere, but an interesting and weirdly captivating flick nonetheless. Kind of a hot mess, though. On one hand, it's waaaay too long and there are too many plot threads going on, but I enjoyed mulling over the questions it posed (i.e. how far can and should society go to tolerate aberrant behavior? Are there limitations to what can be considered art?, etc.), and it does contain several absolutely bonkers and memorable sequences that make it stand out amongst the crop.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2018 1:15:32 GMT
Just saw it today and loved it. Pretty intense and disturbing film. Surprised how many people found it funny.
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Post by idioticbunny on Feb 7, 2018 18:23:21 GMT
Of all the foreign contenders, this is the only one I'm truly interested in (aside from A Fantastic Woman). How did you find it?
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Post by helebrety on Feb 7, 2018 23:20:11 GMT
not bad, but way too long.
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avnermoriarti
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Friends say I’ve changed. They’re right.
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Post by avnermoriarti on Feb 11, 2018 0:46:02 GMT
My immidiate reaction was quite similar to yours, but the movie kept making noise in my head so I saw it a couple of times more and I really like it a lot more now but I agree there's too much to digest and many scenes feel derivative at first and been there done that but behind all that it's been carefully placed and has a sort of mirror effect. Just for example the first scene, in neon light we see "You Have Nothing" as part of an installation, Christian's been interviewed by an almost incompetent reporter rambling and throwing words were she thinks is a very good question, Christian knows that whatever she's saying don't represent anything and probably knows that his answer won't say anything to whoever hears them, and all that comes down to one thing crucial in contemporary art: if you don't have money "you have nothing", the rest doesn't matter.
And The Square itself, by the end of the film oportunism, falseness, lies, lack of compromise, violence, etc has been depicted in different shapes, but Ostlund is saying there's this tiny, luminous square where none of that I mention above has room for it and everyone can get in, but there's a problem, that square is too small, is that a fraud ? there's no hope ?, if there's one it's probably lost in a museum as another piece of exhibition like Elisabeth Moss's bag. In a few words, nothing.
Didn't mind the lenght thought, and I see it as daring to test the viewer's patience, the film has the snowball effect and it grows and grows and not only to remark the absurdity of what generate it ( the robbery ) but not only to let us see that absurdity will lead us nowhere ( the famous "you have nothing" ) but in this journey the worst of this perfect system bring light the worst of us ( such an "artistic" act of robery is not anymore when led Christian where he is now ? ) and there's noreservation, unprepared reporters, publicists that seem to be in a rethoric contest, empty campaings that seem to have substance, or the assistents giving ideas that they can't excecute and you can't count on them, all that's a robbery too, all those perfect characters explode by the end just like the girl from the viral video that enfuriates the social networks after the idea of two young guys that only have as a goal to go viral. So, I don't think it loses its purpose but we need to connect the dots.
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Post by idioticbunny on Feb 19, 2018 20:40:11 GMT
Thanks again stephen for pointing me in the direction of this. Just finished it about ten minutes ago so most of this will just be first impressions rather than cohesive thoughts, but I rather enjoyed it. I didn't think it was profound, certainly not as profound as his previous film Force Majuere, or at least not as profound as other films have been on this same subject (seems to be a big thing with European films). However, it did further prove Ostlund has a keen eye that will be interesting to watch as his career unfolds. He clearly has a lot of big ideas he wants to discuss and perhaps as he continues down the line he can find a way to keep things cohesive. Regardless, I was enthralled the entire time - which is difficult to say for a 142 minute foreign-language film that deliberately takes its time and doesn't appear to have a core narrative. I wouldn't say it was as laugh-out-loud funny as others, but I do appreciate the humor and satire in a lot of scenes (particularly the Tourette's scene and the part where Bang and Moss talk by the chair exhibit). On the topic of Bang, he was fantastic as well. As others have mentioned previously, I think for as dysfunctional as the film was, he did a fantastic job of piecing it all together for us as viewers. As a side note, I honestly think Terry Notary deserves more recognition for his work here. Sure it's just one scene (two I guess if you count his weird exhibit early on in the film), but he absolutely kills it. A purely physical performance, but one that perfectly encapsulates the entire film. Funny, menacing, disturbing, and overall satirical. Additionally, he pretty much just proved why mo-cap performances deserve more recognition. |
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