The Square (2017) on Netflix
The X-Royal art museum in Stockholm is preparing an exhibition called The Square, and Christian, its curator, is a divorced father of two. A confidence trick costs him his phone and wallet.
- Netflix2.8/5
- IMDb7.1/1083,592 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes85%
Trailer
Plot summary
Christian is the chief curator of X-Royal and a divorced father of two daughters, Lise and Lilli. The museum, which occupies part of Stockholm's former royal palace, is preparing an exhibition called The Square, and its artist's statement describes the piece as a place of trust and care where everyone has equal rights and obligations. A marketing company has been hired to promote the show. One day, after a confrontation in a pedestrian zone, Christian realizes his phone, wallet and cufflinks are gone. With his assistant Michael, he traces the phone to a large apartment block and writes an anonymous letter, put through every mailbox there, asking for the belongings to be left at a nearby store.
Cast
- Lise Stephenson Engströmas Daughter
- Lilianne Mardonas Daughter
- Elijandro Edouardas Boy with Letter
- Martin Sööderas Blond Advertising Agent
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Square (2017)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- The ape-man scene was inspired by a real incident in which artist Oleg Kulik, who performs as a dog, attacked people at a Stockholm event. Östlund considered modelling the character on GG Allin but thought that too extreme.
- Ruben Östlund's Palme d'Or win was the first for a predominantly Swedish production since The Best Intentions in 1992, and the first for a Swedish director since Alf Sjöberg for Miss Julie in 1951.
- Elisabeth Moss practised improvisation for two hours to secure her part, after Östlund had early conversations with Michelle Williams and Sacha Baron Cohen. Östlund contacted BAFTA in London while casting.
- Terry Notary was cast as Oleg, the ape-man, after Östlund ran a search for "actor imitating monkey" and watched one of his performances; his Planet of the Apes experience helped. His scene used 300 extras.
- The film's opening was inspired by a real incident in Gothenburg, where Östlund saw a woman cry that someone was going to kill her; it was a ploy and his cellphone was stolen.
- Östlund shot a single scene per day, sometimes taking as many as 50 takes, and spent a day in Berlin with a Bonobo, with the cast given rules on behaving around the animal to avoid a violent reaction.
- For the general release, Östlund cut 2 minutes and 43 seconds from the film's final quarter, as presented at Cannes, to sharpen the last 30 minutes.
