By Roger Costa
THE SQUARE
As a crowd walk off a train, careless, distracted and hypnotized on their mobile phones, a girl tries to handle them flyers asking if anyone’d want to save a life; in the middle of the urban chaos, homeless refugees beg for money and someone screams for help, several times, uncomfortably agonizing, yet anyone hardly notices. Winner of the Palm D’or in Cannes, Director Ruben Östlund’s dark, surreal and metaphorical comedy of manners, place mirrors in front of us, offering punches in the face of contemporary society, asking questions such as: how are we treating each other, reaching out to those in need, those unknown souls, but most importantly, how are we caring for those right next to us? Through a series of events, leading to the inauguration of a new controversial art exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, the director traces a revealing, shocking and brilliantly hilarious account on modern behavior, individualism, social clashes and the malfunctioning virtues of our days. Everything here is amazingly funny and has a lot to say about human values, creating a meditation on the need of essential connection and comprehension among men. With top-notch performances by Claes Bang as the museum’s curator, Elisabeth Moss as the intrusive journalist, and the unforgettably aggression promoted by Terry Notary at a bourgeois dinner, this is by far the Best Movie of 2017. (A Magnolia Pictures Release. Opens Friday, October 27th at Film Society of Lincoln Center.)
THE DIVINE ORDER
A small community in Switzerland is affected by the world’s social transformations in early 70’s, as the women decide to fight the men-ruling system and acquire fundamental civil rights such as voting. Writer-Director Petra Biodina Volpe’s drama focuses on Nora, a lovely housewife who embraces the activism, as she’s revolted and disappointed by the way men in general are outrageously humiliating their own women. In one definitive moment, she opens up all her silent rage, announcing to her husband the reasons why she can’t keep quiet no more: her young niece is unjustly incarcerated, a friend had lost all her husband’s inheritance, and another endures her man’s manipulative behavior; Marie Leuenberger exceeds in magnificence and strength as Nora, in a graceful and fiercely performance that was named Best Actress by the Jury Award at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival. This Swiss Oscars-submission gem is a revolutionary tale seen through sensitive, yet determined feminine lenses, and also a tender and moving examination on the power of women’s willingness. (A Zeitgeist Films Release. Opens Friday, October 27th at Film Forum.)
MAYA DARDEL
Lena Olin is fascinating as the title character in T. Zachary Cotler’s directorial debut, a vigorously erotic drama inspired by true events. The film opens straight forward to the point: a writer announces on a radio show her plans to end her life, and calls out for male poets interested in carrying on her legacy. Structured as a lusty intellectual puzzle, exposing her interactions and sexual pleasures shared with the young men willing for a chance to launch their careers, the narrative naturally absorbs the complexity of its characters’ stirred emotions, keeping the audience intrigued and shocked. At one point its focus becomes the dispute of two of them, elevating the tension and preparing terrain for unexpected twists. Among the riveting performances, Rosanna Arquette plays a confident neighbor, but the show belongs entirely to Lena, whom the film breathes its main force. (A Samuel Goldwyn Films Release. Opens Friday, October 27th at Cinema Village.)
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