SCANDINAVIAN FILM & FOOD FESTIVAL

Saturday, 12 May 2018, 2:00 pm

Two scintillating films followed by a delicious smorgasbord

Film and food: £12 members, £18 non members


The Square

2017, Sweeden/Germany/France/Denmark, 144 minutes, (15)
Director – Ruben Ostlund

Christian is an Art gallery director whose life goes into meltdown after he loses his mobile phone. He is curating ‘The Square’, an art installation which invites passersby to altruism. A poignant, satirical drama about community, moral courage and the affluent person’s need for egocentricity.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – The Square
Rotten Tomatoes – The Square

AUDIENCE REACTION:

  • Excellent 3
  • Very Good 9
  • Good 9
  • Average 2

Giving an overall score of 63%

COMMENTS:

  • Occasionally hilarious but rather baffling as a whole
  • I do like a film to ponder and certainly plenty to ponder – what was it about?
  • Overall very good but too long.
  • A twisty tale, amusing in places poking fun at the pretensions of the art world
  • A man divorced from reality.  A poor Monty Python sketch?
  • Would have scored higher with some editing – also a bit disjointed
  • Very thought provoking.  Looks at quite a few themes
  • Intriguing and thought provoking ref – ‘Freedom of Thought’   Great actors/actresses – I wonder what happened to the boy Christina went to apologise to…?
  • Pretty disjointed – the ape-man sequence was a highlight with the bourgeois audience reacting first with embarrassed silence then in a frenzied attack on the ‘performer’
  • Slow starting, it was getting fidgety.  The wit was dry – quite a few unexpected humorous scenes.  The dinner party scene with Oleg was astounding, scary – I held my breath.
  • Surprisingly funny but too long

Tillsammans / Together

2000, Sweden/Denmark/ItalySweden/Denmark/Italy  106 minutes

Director – Lukas Moodysson

Set in a 1970s commune, Elizabeth and her two children take refuge from her abusive husband with her brother who lives in a commune.  A wry comedy looking at the dynanics of communal living and whilst gently poking fun at the free living lifestyle emphasises their humanity and love.

TRAILER:

LINKS:
IMDb – Together
Rotten Tomatoes – Together

AUDIENCE REACTION:

  • Excellent 7
  • Very good 14
  • Good 8

Giving an overall score of 69%

COMMENTS:

  • Funny and enjoyable
  • Entertaining
  • Thought provoking, bizarre but very watchable
  • Good fun
  • Funny, interesting film that still holds resonance in today’s society
  • I didn’t find the film funny.  Enjoyed the end that it portrayed a communal living per se and the difficulties that could occur.  I liked the film tremendously
  • Great film – plenty going on with all the characters and in realistic retro settings
  • a slice of life in the 70’s 0- people ‘finding’ themselves in many ways!
  • Funny, moving, thoughtful.  A great film
  • Humorous and charming.  Reminiscent of 1970’s struggling with issues which are still relevant today.  A feel good film
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