The Square

The scenes in Ruben Östlund’s The Square linger uncomfortably, forcing the viewer to face the absurdities and inhumanities of European wealth as it exists today. A Stockholm curator (Claes Bang) begins falling apart when his phone is stolen, and his enthusiasm to assert machismo backfires terribly. Meanwhile, an unseen Argentine artist is about to unveil a public installation and the museum is stumped about how to promote it. There’s a prolonged sexual assault and a lot of apathy towards the homeless, so I wouldn’t say this movie’s for everyone. It’s very funny, though, particularly Elisabeth Moss as an American journalist with some odd sexual habits.