You have 3 days to watch on HBO Max the film that fascinated Almodóvar against political correctness
Having the most prestigious director in the history of Spain, along with Buñuel, praise your film is not something that one can take lightly. Especially if, as happened to Alauda Ruiz de Azúa, the celebrated title is your first feature film: five little wolvesthat inflexible reflection on motherhood that received three Goya awards, was defined by Pedro Almodóvar as the best debut that national cinema had received in many years. But there may still be a greater triumph: that the director ofTie me up!your film fascinated him for its transgression.
The winner is neither, like Ruiz de Azúa, a newcomer nor a compatriot of Almodóvar: he is Ruben Ostlundthe biting Swedish filmmaker, and the title that dazzled his colleague from La Mancha was The Square.
Östlund already had a respectable filmography when, in 2017, he screened The Square at the Cannes Film Festival. His previous film, Force Majeurehad received six Guldbagge awards, the Swedish Goya, in addition to being nominated for the Golden Globe already the BAFTA, on both occasions as the best non-English language title. Therefore, the development of Östlund’s film in Cannes was closely followed even before it was exhibited. She was considered one of the favorites for the Palme d’Or.. And, among the glances that she captured, she found one permanently veiled by sunglasses.
Almodóvar was, in that edition, the jury president of the French festival, so the responsibility fell on him to congratulate Östlund when he was awarded the precious Palme d’Or: “I have felt the impact of finding myself in front of a masterpiece“, explained the director in the farewell conference, thus linking with some words he said upon arriving in Cannes, according to which he wanted to encounter masterpieces like those that Fellini, Coppola or Buñuel had brought there, long ago. Especially, Almodóvar highlighted his criticism against “political correctness”. But what is it about? The Square?
A comedy that laughs at us
Östlund’s cinema is characterized by putting society in front of the mirror and then dedicating the next two hours to ridiculing it. The Square is not an exception: starting from a contemporary art exhibition dedicated to promoting altruismthe Swedish director splashes as he pleases through a swamp of corrosive black humor, inhabited by the actors Elisabeth Moss (mad men and The Handmaid’s Tale), Dominic West (The wire and The affair) and an exceptional Claes Bang (Dracula).
Where can I watch ‘The Square’?
In Spain, the title awarded with the Palme d’Or is available on Movistar Plus, on MUBI and on HBO Max. If this platform is your last bet, keep in mind that Östlund will not keep its eccentric installation in its catalog for long: next September 17, The Square It will be removed from HBO Max, so you should hurry.
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