Intense. Can hardly breathe throughout the film
Brought in by Anticipate Film by Vincent who specialises in European, American independent films and one other genre
Film begins with a cropped shot of a heart in open surgery. Pumping. With the pancreas? It stayed that way for a good one min. Was terribly painful to watch. Next we see the lead actor of the show, Steven, a surgeon (Colin Farrell) getting out of the operating theatre. He chats with the anaesthesiologist and good friend, Matthew, about watches. All in that strange clipped tone.
He goes home to his big house, beautiful wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and two beautiful children, Kim and Bob. They're a totally artificial family, speaking in formal short sentences to each other and never asking beneath the surface. Kim does singing lessons and Bob refuses to cut his hair so he looks like a girl. They chat about buying a piano all in very cordial terms.
But the couple have very strange sex games which include "paralysis" of the wife. And lemon curd.
He first meets Martin at a dive. Martin is the classmate of Kim. He aspires to be like Steven, a surgeon. Next they drive to the sea and have this strange exchange of how're you? Steven looks at him with fatherly love. Martin is invited to their home for dinner, and Martin turns on the charm, such that even Anna takes a liking to him. Martin gets Kim to go for a walk with him. She likes him and sang "Burning by Ellie Golding" under a tree, picked up smoking from him, wants to have sex with him and rides pillion without a helmet.
Martin inches his way closer with the family. Good lemonade? Why not come over to my place. My mom (played by Alicia Silverstone) makes good lemonade too. Steven has dinner with Martin's mom and with him, obliges to stay and watch a movie upon Martin's request but strangely in the middle of the movie, Martin goes to bed, leaving only mother and Steven. Her come on line: what beautiful hands you have. I know surgeons have beautiful hands but none are as beautiful as yours. Mother proceeds to suck his fingers. Yummy. Steven declines her advanced and leaves but doesn't tell his wife what happened.
One morning, Bob cannot stand up. Thinking he was just faking it, Steven proceeds to play a game with him in the hospital where they have to tell each other secrets. Steven's was when he first started masturbating. He was a kid about Bob's age and he touched his dad's penis when his dad was super drunk. Except that Bob was not faking his paralysis. Steven threatens to cut his hair and make Bob eat it if he was faking it. And even though Bob can't eat, Steven forced him to. After numerous tests including a spinal cord extraction of fluid, all doctors find no cause for his illness.
Martin tells Steven first stage is loss of feelings in the limbs. Next is unable to eat. The Third stage is bleeding and finally death. So Martin's dad passed away in surgery and he was operated upon by Steven and Matthew as anaesthesiologist. An eye for an eye. Steven's wife and children must pay for the price. Kim was next to go and that happened abruptly during choir practice of that beautiful Christmas choral, Carol of The Bells.
The rebellious teenage daughter scolds her mom under her breathe and got a phone confiscated. She was speaking to Martin and during this time managed to overcome her paralysis to look for Martin by the window. He was not there. Mind over matter. The illness could be psychological if Steven had sought psychological help for this children, as mentioned by Anna who's also a doctor. Eventually the parents moved the children back because there was no other way treatments. They have undergone the two stages each.
Anna looks for Martin in his home. Martin tells of how Steven had dinner with them and he approves of Steven and his mom getting together. Steven has beautiful hands and his mom likes him since her husband has been killed. To all couples: never hide things from each other. Communicate daily. If someone tries to break you up with words, defend each other at all cost.
Steven tries to hunt down Martin at his home to no avail. One day Steven reveals to his wife that he had Martin kept at their basement. Martin had been badly beaten. Despite his injuries, Martin still has that unflinching, challenging look in his eyes. When the wife is not in the room, Martin attacks Steven and bit off the flesh on his arm. Martin bit off his own flesh too. An eye for an eye.
Kim toys around with Bob saying his dad would choose that only she lives. Her dad loves her better and even got a Steinway shipped from God knows where. One child must go.
Kim sneaks down to the basement one day and begs Martin to make her better. He was expressionless. Can he not or does he not want to? She drags herself out of the house and is carried home by dad, knees all bloodied. She mutters all those crazy words like a cult as he dresses her wounds and begs that he chooses her. She betrays her brother with a kiss on her dad parallel to how Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus with a kiss.
Anna cleans and dresses the wounds of Martin with her two children. She kisses both his feet showing her servitude and service for Martin. And begs that he help them. I don't think he can actually. This whole scenario could be really psychological. Why else would the mom not be affected by paralysis?
She releases Martin and incurs his wrath
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
The Square
Part of privileges of being an SFS member
This film explores the existential crisis of human beings. Christian, lead curator of a Stockholm museum X-Royal, a contemporary and modern art museum, faces difficulties professionally and personally.
The film begins with Christian sleeping on an office couch and it is daylight. A fine art magazine is seen on the floor with a boop strategically hidden. One assumes he had a wild night.
A crane lifts a statue of someone important sitting on a horse on top of a pedestal by the neck. Naturally the statue breaks. In place of this prominent position in front of the museum is a square lit with flourescent tubes. According to the artist, within this square is a"safe space".
"The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it, we all share equal rights and obligations.”
Christian is faced with this task to sell this.
When interviewed by an American journalist on the greatest challenge, he says it's too raise funds. Same problems.
He later sleeps with this journalist who lives with a chimpanzee-child. This chimp gets its own crayons to doodle and stares at its owner jealously when she brought Christian home. The many explicit sex shots are crazy and the humping and thumping. This journalist has this crazy control obsession over dumping of Christian's condom. Makes him put it on so business-like, takes off her clothes in a brisk business-like manner too and asks if he did cum. And insists he was inside her the next day at work. She's obviously infatuated with him while he doesn't think much of the sex act, like all men. The really hilarious part is when she insists on dumping his condom. I had no idea it was so elastic. Like over 60cm.
In the beginning of the film we see hoards of well-dressed working class Swedes walking out of the subway and to their destinations. And this voice in the crowd, "want to save a life today?" And no one ever stops to ask what is it. What can I do you save a life? Nope. Everyone ignores and life carried on. It's really disturbing.
When Christian is knocked into otw to work, approached by a woman who claims to be hunted down by someone trying to kill her, he stops and tries to do prevent this mishap together with another passer-by. Little did he know he was being robbed. After preventing the mishap and feeling good about this with the newly made "friend" they part ways.
In his attempt to retrieve his money, wallet and handphone, he and a subordinate hatch a plan through tracking of the mobile's GPS. They printed a letter demanding a return of the possessions by leaving the items at the nearby convenience stall and this was slotted to every level's mailbox.
His subordinate chickened out and Christan is left to do it on his own. He tries to use his star diva status to get his subordinate to do it to no avail. While he goes around arduously trying to slot the letter, there's a perpetual dog barking and in the car downstairs, his subordinate is harassed by a gang of crazies. The cropped shot from within the car gives this intense and unstable feeling like he's going to killed. It's scary. Christian is finally done and runs out and orders him to drive and get the hell out out of this place.
To their amazement somebody did return the items. They called on the first day- no news. Second day- someone from the convenience stall called.
The number of homeless people in Stockholm is prevalent. In contrast to the number of well-heeled people. A Gypsy demands for food in this convenience stall where Christian tried looking for his items on the first day. A certain kind of burger with no onions. True to his attitude he gets the burger and asked her to pick out the onions herself.
When he got the items back he donated all the money to her.
To his surprise on the third day someone from the convenience stall says someone is demanding to see Christan. This person says he was accused of being a thief and his parents now banned him from his favorite leisure. He demands that Christan apologies to his family. Strongly worded this boy is crazy and this is seen when the cowardly Christian, sends his subordinate to confront this boy, who flies into a rage, overturned rubbish and threatened that Christian will be harmed and will regret his action.
Distracted by this, Christan signs off a crazy video to promote "The Square", created by a bunch of Millennials in a PR firm. All they want is a viral video. This video eventually blows up in Christian's face when he first gets a call for reaching xxx number of views on YouTube for this video, then being told by Board that he needs to step down and having a press con to announce that. He's let off the hook when the PR firm takes blame for creating this video of a toddler with blond hair blue- eyes and carrying a ragged toy blows up in the Square. She's obviously homeless.
We realise he's married and divorced/separated when his two girls visit him. He forgot to pick them up and they go crazy quarreling with each other. The crazy boy tracks him down home one day and when Christian scared him away by accidentally pushing him down the stairs, he did not help this whimpering puppy boy.
When Christan was out looking for his girls in a crowded mall, he could not get anyone's help to look after his bags. Instead he had to approach a beggar who didn't steal any of his items.
This film explores the existential crisis of human beings. Christian, lead curator of a Stockholm museum X-Royal, a contemporary and modern art museum, faces difficulties professionally and personally.
The film begins with Christian sleeping on an office couch and it is daylight. A fine art magazine is seen on the floor with a boop strategically hidden. One assumes he had a wild night.
A crane lifts a statue of someone important sitting on a horse on top of a pedestal by the neck. Naturally the statue breaks. In place of this prominent position in front of the museum is a square lit with flourescent tubes. According to the artist, within this square is a"safe space".
"The Square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it, we all share equal rights and obligations.”
Christian is faced with this task to sell this.
When interviewed by an American journalist on the greatest challenge, he says it's too raise funds. Same problems.
He later sleeps with this journalist who lives with a chimpanzee-child. This chimp gets its own crayons to doodle and stares at its owner jealously when she brought Christian home. The many explicit sex shots are crazy and the humping and thumping. This journalist has this crazy control obsession over dumping of Christian's condom. Makes him put it on so business-like, takes off her clothes in a brisk business-like manner too and asks if he did cum. And insists he was inside her the next day at work. She's obviously infatuated with him while he doesn't think much of the sex act, like all men. The really hilarious part is when she insists on dumping his condom. I had no idea it was so elastic. Like over 60cm.
In the beginning of the film we see hoards of well-dressed working class Swedes walking out of the subway and to their destinations. And this voice in the crowd, "want to save a life today?" And no one ever stops to ask what is it. What can I do you save a life? Nope. Everyone ignores and life carried on. It's really disturbing.
When Christian is knocked into otw to work, approached by a woman who claims to be hunted down by someone trying to kill her, he stops and tries to do prevent this mishap together with another passer-by. Little did he know he was being robbed. After preventing the mishap and feeling good about this with the newly made "friend" they part ways.
In his attempt to retrieve his money, wallet and handphone, he and a subordinate hatch a plan through tracking of the mobile's GPS. They printed a letter demanding a return of the possessions by leaving the items at the nearby convenience stall and this was slotted to every level's mailbox.
His subordinate chickened out and Christan is left to do it on his own. He tries to use his star diva status to get his subordinate to do it to no avail. While he goes around arduously trying to slot the letter, there's a perpetual dog barking and in the car downstairs, his subordinate is harassed by a gang of crazies. The cropped shot from within the car gives this intense and unstable feeling like he's going to killed. It's scary. Christian is finally done and runs out and orders him to drive and get the hell out out of this place.
To their amazement somebody did return the items. They called on the first day- no news. Second day- someone from the convenience stall called.
The number of homeless people in Stockholm is prevalent. In contrast to the number of well-heeled people. A Gypsy demands for food in this convenience stall where Christian tried looking for his items on the first day. A certain kind of burger with no onions. True to his attitude he gets the burger and asked her to pick out the onions herself.
When he got the items back he donated all the money to her.
To his surprise on the third day someone from the convenience stall says someone is demanding to see Christan. This person says he was accused of being a thief and his parents now banned him from his favorite leisure. He demands that Christan apologies to his family. Strongly worded this boy is crazy and this is seen when the cowardly Christian, sends his subordinate to confront this boy, who flies into a rage, overturned rubbish and threatened that Christian will be harmed and will regret his action.
Distracted by this, Christan signs off a crazy video to promote "The Square", created by a bunch of Millennials in a PR firm. All they want is a viral video. This video eventually blows up in Christian's face when he first gets a call for reaching xxx number of views on YouTube for this video, then being told by Board that he needs to step down and having a press con to announce that. He's let off the hook when the PR firm takes blame for creating this video of a toddler with blond hair blue- eyes and carrying a ragged toy blows up in the Square. She's obviously homeless.
We realise he's married and divorced/separated when his two girls visit him. He forgot to pick them up and they go crazy quarreling with each other. The crazy boy tracks him down home one day and when Christian scared him away by accidentally pushing him down the stairs, he did not help this whimpering puppy boy.
When Christan was out looking for his girls in a crowded mall, he could not get anyone's help to look after his bags. Instead he had to approach a beggar who didn't steal any of his items.
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