Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Measured
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- melancholic
- wistful
- intimate
- quiet evening
- romantic drama night
What critics said
The limited available audience rating points to a mildly positive reception, though the small sample prevents a strong critical consensus.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Swedish diplomat's approaching end of assignment gives the relationship an unavoidable time limit.
The lovers occupy roles inside a tightly controlled state system that constrains their private connection.
Pyongyang is the concrete setting where ordinary traffic duties, diplomatic work, and forbidden romance intersect.
Films like The Square, and why
In the Mood for Love
Shared forbidden romance, restrained longing, and social constraints that make intimacy difficult.
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Shared cross-cultural romance, political separation, and wistful emotional restraint.
The Handmaiden
Shared Korean setting, morally constrained desire, and tension between personal feeling and social structures.
Movie Details
- Director
- Kim Bo-sol
- Release Date
- 2026-01-15
- Runtime
- 74 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (2)
Cast
- Jeon Woon-jong
- Lee Chan-yong
- Lee Ga-young
- Lee Yoo-jun
- Seo Won-seok
- Nam Kee-ae
- Song Cheol-ho
- Kim Pyung-jo
- Lee Bo-hee
Common questions
- What is The Square about?
- A Swedish envoy and a North Korean traffic officer risk an impossible love under the watch of Pyongyang’s divided political world.
- What is The Square like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Square as measured, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is The Square violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in The Square.
- What did critics think of The Square?
- The limited available audience rating points to a mildly positive reception, though the small sample prevents a strong critical consensus.
- Which films are like The Square?
- Films with a similar feel include In the Mood for Love, Hiroshima Mon Amour, and The Handmaiden.
- How long is The Square?
- The Square runs 74 minutes.
