By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 30, unless otherwise noted: The Square Details: 2017, Magnolia Home Entertainment Rated: R, language, sexual content, violence The lowdown: This best foreign language film Academy Award-nominee is a maddening movie. It’s one of those artsy films that impresses in parts, but, on the whole, drives you to distraction. And at nearly 2½ hours, the movie seems to meander about, obscuring at times what it wants to say. The movie tries to be satiric, but some of the humor fails to connect or have any bite. It’s difficult to like this movie. Its pace is rather slow, with a couple of subplots that go nowhere. It does pick up in the final act, but by then you probably have lost interest and are just counting down to the finale. The movie also takes a swipe at political correctness, detailing the hypocrisy that surrounds those who talk the talk, but cannot bring themselves to walk the walk. “The Square” makes you uncomfortable; it is off-putting, which may be director Ruben Ostlund’s intention. The problem is he succeeds so well that the point of the movie may simply fly over your head without you even noticing.
New to View: Jan. 30
New to View: Jan. 30
New to View: Jan. 30
By Bob Bloom The following titles are being released on Tuesday, Jan. 30, unless otherwise noted: The Square Details: 2017, Magnolia Home Entertainment Rated: R, language, sexual content, violence The lowdown: This best foreign language film Academy Award-nominee is a maddening movie. It’s one of those artsy films that impresses in parts, but, on the whole, drives you to distraction. And at nearly 2½ hours, the movie seems to meander about, obscuring at times what it wants to say. The movie tries to be satiric, but some of the humor fails to connect or have any bite. It’s difficult to like this movie. Its pace is rather slow, with a couple of subplots that go nowhere. It does pick up in the final act, but by then you probably have lost interest and are just counting down to the finale. The movie also takes a swipe at political correctness, detailing the hypocrisy that surrounds those who talk the talk, but cannot bring themselves to walk the walk. “The Square” makes you uncomfortable; it is off-putting, which may be director Ruben Ostlund’s intention. The problem is he succeeds so well that the point of the movie may simply fly over your head without you even noticing.