Must-Watch or Scam? This Palme d’Or Winner Leaves Netflix in 9 Years!

The year is 2017, and the Cannes Film Festival is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The competition is intense, and predicting the next Palme d’Or winner is challenging: Okja, 120 Beats Per Minute, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, A Beautiful Day… The films are exceptionally good. Yet, on the night of the closing ceremony, a Swedish dark horse that no one anticipated sweeps the award!

From its debut at Cannes, Ruben Östlund’s “The Square” was polarizing, splitting the audience into two almost irreconcilable groups. Described as either a “masterpiece” or a “scam,” the third feature film by the director has remained controversial. Nine years later, as it prepares to leave Netflix, we’re eager to see which side you’ll take!

What’s it About?

Christian is a divorced father who enjoys spending time with his children. A well-liked curator of a contemporary art museum, he’s also one of those people who drives an electric car and supports major humanitarian causes.

He is preparing his next exhibition titled “The Square,” centered around an installation that encourages visitors to be altruistic and reminds them of their duty to others. However, living up to one’s values can be challenging: when Christian’s phone is stolen, his reaction is less than admirable…

A (Very) Harsh Film

What strikes first about “The Square” is that it is a (very) harsh film, directly attacking the intellectual middle class from which Ruben Östlund himself originates. The underlying reason? A general hypocrisy that the director finds intolerable, from people who preach tolerance and sharing from their luxurious apartments where they only invite those like themselves.

The entire approach of the film is thus to force the characters out of this lie, placing them in situations where they must face who they really are: downright hypocrites. It’s no wonder that some viewers took the message poorly.

Subtle or Heavy-Handed?

Beyond the message, it’s also how Östlund stages it that has divided opinions. Is the film a subtle analysis of social hypocrisy (which we all practice) or a crass comedy convinced it’s Shakespeare?

Admittedly, some scenes are pushed to the extreme, bordering on the burlesque, and one can imagine Östlund’s sly smile as he films his actors struggling with utterly ridiculous situations. But are they unrealistic?

A Great Film?

Since we have to pick a side, let’s assert that “The Square” is indeed a great film. Simply because Östlund is a masterful director. By pushing everything to the extreme, making scenes last far beyond what seems reasonable (averaging 10 minutes each, which is huge), it feels as if each moment becomes a film within the film: a true cinema kaleidoscope.

As if the film about the museum becomes a museum itself, and each scene a standalone piece that astonishes, moves, amuses, and even sometimes terrifies. A treasure trove of cinema, rightfully earning its Palme d’Or! There, it’s said!

The Square, Snow Therapy, and Without Filter by Ruben Östlund, will leave Netflix on September 28.