Category: Arts

It seems appropriate that a film that revolves around a modern art curator would, itself, resist interpretation. Like the art that it intends to satirize, The Square is difficult to define.  In fact, one cannot even say that it is the story of one person or one story, although it may seem that way at first. The film, at first, seems to focus on Christian (Claes Bang) and the museum he curates.  Life seems to be going well for Christian. He is rich, handsome, and secure in his power and privilege. The museum is prepping to open a new exhibit, also titled The Square, which is a simply lit square in the plaza in front of the museum. However, as Christian explains to the brash, young ad men hired to promote the exhibit, it is supposed to mean something more.

‘The square is a sanctuary of trust and caring. Within it we all share equal rights and obligations’

It is the ramifications of this phrase that Christian and the other rich, upper-class citizens that he associates with must confront throughout the movie.  Stockholm is home to not just to the wealthy, but also countless beggars and the homeless. The Square, both the film and the art piece, challenges the rich to look at their own privilege and how they are abusing it, even as they pretend to be generous.

Fortunately, the director Rueben Östlund never lets the pretensions of his subjects slow the movie.  Instead, he constantly undermines Christian’s and others’ attempts to be serious by incorporating the entire screen. There are constantly visual and audio jokes in the margins of the frame. Even as Östlund focuses his camera on Christian, the true aim of the film is to highlight all in the world that Christian is missing. Christian and his fellow art-lovers may espouse to be more sophisticated, more evolved than those around them, but they, too, are subject to the whims of outside forces that they can’t control. By employing a greater focus, Östlund considers subjects that are harder to skewer than simple art-world pretentiousness. The film ranges from classicism to racism to urban poverty without restraint.  It is hard to criticize a film for lacking focus when its ambitions are so high and are so often successful. The Square leaves many threads hanging, all of which extend beyond the reach of the theater. Östlund is aware that many of the viewers of the film share much with the characters within the film and thus, realizes the importance of continuing the discussion even after the end of the film. Although it certainly wanders at points during its two hours and twenty-two-minute runtime, The Square is thoughtful and beautiful filmmaking that never lets the viewer forget their culpability. Through its sounds and visuals, it constantly invites us to think beyond the scope of one movie. There are greater problems to be confronted in the world and within ourselves. The Square may have defined limits, but our empathy should not.

Maggie Betts’s debut film, “Novitiate,’ details the experiences of Kathleen, a young woman who decides to become a part of the Catholic Church as a nun. Set in the early 1960’s, viewers are invited to witness Kathleen grapple with issues of sexuality and her own personal faith, as her training proves to be much tougher and demanding than expected. Her story spans a decade, paralleling the times of radical historical change within the church. The film was showcased at the Sundance Film Festival and met with positive feedback. Check out the trailer below:

“Novitiate” is being shown at the Michigan Theater until December 17. Tickets for students are $7, with ID.

Many movies have been released over the years. There has been the good, the bad, and the just plain ugly, but no movie has had quite the same trajectory as Tommy Wiseau’s infamous production, The Room. Wiseau, a newcomer to Hollywood, chose to write, direct, star in, and most mysteriously, entirely fund his dream project. Full of unforgettably awkward lines and inexplicable directing choices, the movie was declared a disaster. But it has also become an eminently watchable disaster, spawning midnight screenings across the country every year. Part of that fascination has birthed a new project directed by and starring James Franco, The Disaster Artist, based on the novel by Greg Sestro, a friend of Wiseau’s who continues to write and produce films with him.

The film begins when Sestro (Dave Franco) first encounters Wiseau. Greg gapes in both horror and admiration as Tommy performs Shakespeare for the entire theater class. Much of the film encourages the audience to do the same. Goggle at James Franco’s wig!  Giggle at his accent! Observe as he meticulously recreates your favorite scenes from The Room! The Disaster Artist mines what the audience already knows, making it feel perfunctory as it reveals each new puzzle piece. Perhaps it is because the puzzle seems too neatly put together. The awkward football tossing, Wiseau’s peculiar laugh, the iconic lines, each make an appearance in Tommy’s and Greg’s interactions. It is all a collection of references rather than a movie that can stand on its own. When the movie does try to chronicle Greg’s and Tommy’s lives before the making of The Room, it treads in clichés. It is disappointing that a character like Wiseau could be revealed to be simply just another failed LA dreamer, just another jealous friend. It is a case where humanizing the main character does not have the expected effect. Perhaps it would have been better to let the curtain be. The mystery behind it will always be more interesting than the truth.

One of the more intriguing narratives of the movie considers the friendship between Tommy and Greg. Tommy, throughout most of the film, exerts considerable power over the younger, impressionable Greg. He houses Greg in his beautiful LA apartment, drives him around in a Mercedes Benz. To its credit, the movie does not shy away from showing the problematic nature of Tommy’s controlling personality whether it be terrorizing actresses on set to manipulating his friendship with Greg to get what he wants. However, the movie does seem to justify his actions as stemming from a place of insecurity. It is problematic, then, that Tommy is still able to get what he wants from Greg with barely a protest. The characters of The Disaster Artist may be better written than those of The Room, but there is still a missing nuance that can’t be covered up with silly accent. It is hard to believe in characters who seem to be constantly winking at you.

The Disaster Artist knows what audience its playing for. Sometimes, that self-awareness can be captivating. Those who have seen The Room will certainly want to see this movie. However, for me, it actively decreased my investment in the characters, even as I laughed at the impressions and the recreations. It is a well-worn storyline in a well-done package. Both the Franco brothers and Seth Rogen, as the protesting script supervisor of The Room, give terrific performances. The older Franco also does well to meticulously construct and frame shots exactly as they were in the original film. But in the end, the film was a disappointment and unlike The Room, I’m not sure that I will be re-watching it anytime soon.