The Square, written and directed by Ruben Ostlund

The Square, written and directed by Ruben Ostlund

The Square is one of the remarkable films of 2017.

Maybe we should say one of the best of the decade.

It is thought provoking, fresh, unusual, combining humor with drama.

The Square is a work of modern art with a message:

Within this square drawn on the floor, " we all have equal right and obligations ".

This motion picture deals with political themes, such as inequality, immigration, discrimination.

Christian is the hero of the narrative and he is the head curator of the Modern Art Museum of Copenhagen.

Early on, he has an interview with Anne, a journalist who is portrayed by Elizabeth Moss.

And the audience is soon invited to think about

What is art?

If I take your bag and place it in the museum on display, does that make it an object of art?

As a matter of fact, piles of gravel are arranged in a room and they constitute part of the exhibit.

In order to attract attention and funding, the museum decides to work with an agency.

The young men explain that it is difficult to get the attention on the Internet, when there are so many news and events competing for an ever decreasing attention span.

So they suggest something that will take the elements that get people to watch and exploit them...

Beggars, violence

And what they come with and this will shock and cause outrage is a video with a five year old Blonde beggar who is blown up in front of the Museum of Modern Art...

This will get you the attention you crave...and indeed it got a lot of coverage.

While in a public square, Christian is robbed, his phone, wallet are taken.

With tracking devices now widely available, he is able to locate the phone.

The building where it is, not the exact apartment.

So letters are printed and delivered to all the mail boxes, accusing the receiver of being a thief and threatening and asking for the phone and wallet back.

The possessions are returned, but during this process, an innocent child is hurt.

His parents get the letter and are convinced that the innocent boy has committed the crime.

Christian shows here the ugly face of his character.

Although a smart, Creative, Open-minded, sophisticated man, he is also arrogant and at times obnoxious, cruel and discriminatory.

He has sex with the journalist Anne and this is the occasion for some strange situations.

After the intercourse, the woman asks for the condom.

He would not give it, albeit she insists.

The outre moment becomes really outlandish when they both start pulling the used condom.

Perhaps to top it all or just to add another absurd, bizarre occurance, a chimpanzee comes to the other room...

There is another bizarre performance, involving an artist called Oleg, who is acting like a primate.

This "performer" pushes things further and further, until he attacks a woman from the audience, bent on raping her, hurting and pulling the victim by the hair.

Finally, men intervene, but now it is their turn to act viciously and with horrendous brutality.

You have nothing

This is written on the wall of the piles of gravel artwork.

In another exhibition, visitors are asked to make a choice:

If you trust people, enter this door

With mistrust as the chosen option, there is another door.

Christian takes his two daughters and once they reach The Square, they are asked to leave the phones and wallets in that space.

They find that difficult, given the extreme and absurd attachment we all have with out phones aka our souls.

Very provocative, creative, unusual and memorable motion picture.

It was nominated for a Golden Globe and, just a few hours ago, for an Academy Award for

Best Foreign Motion Picture

I'd say it deserves to win as much as First They Killed My Father, Nelyubov aka Loveless, which are the other significant films that I have seen so far in this category.

For a BAFTA Handmaiden has been nominated, but I would vote for The Square instead.