bjohnson01328 The Square was hard to watch. I could never imagine living somewhere, where the people in power are able to leave everyone poor and only provide for themselves. I could never imagine being uneducated for being poor. I could never imagine my country punishing me for speaking my mind and standing my ground. I could never imagine my Dictator having the military kill innocent people.This is a good example of when America should step in and do something to fix what they've allowed other countries to do.I was amused when they had an election to make others think they were changing to a democracy country. I would recommend this documentary to any one that is a revolutionary.

hazysistersunshine33 I think it was last year that this was nominated for best documentary, although I don't think it won. It revolves around the continuing Egyptian revolution that started back several years ago and has been in the papers so much even up to today. I just read another article the other day about it. It's predominantly filmed on the main Square of Cairo, hence the title. Since it's a documentary, it's all real, which makes it all more disturbing. I think if it was fictional; it would probably be even more horrific because you know how they like to make things as horrific as possible in movies. So, in that sense, this movie is pretty tame. But since it's real, it affects you more. Several people get hurt in it, but the documentary only focuses on one casualty during the whole thing. It's a little convoluted and I think they could've explained what was going on better. It was as if they assumed you already knew everything about it. Although, I do try to keep up with the news, I am unfortunately a little ignorant of the details of the revolution. I wished they had focused a bit more on the logistics of what happened as apposed to the fighting and demonstrating in the Square specifically. It did make me want to read up more on the subject. I just think that, if they were going to focus on how violent and "horrific" it was, they should've focused on more horrific things. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't want to have to go through something like that, but it just wasn't informative enough for a real documentary and too sanitized for a sentimental documentary.

l_rawjalaurence THE SQUARE is a raw, uncompromising documentary charting the Egyptian revolution that began with the overthrowing of Pressident Mubarak, and continues to this day. President Morsi was elected and overthrown; and the people are perpetually at war with one another. The film tells the stories that have often been neglected with the reporting of the conflict in the western media. Using five different people of different ages and different backgrounds as their subjects, director Jehane Noujaim shows the spontaneity of the so-called "Arab Spring" - it began as a popular movement among young people and continues in similar vein to this day. They are not only frustrated with the established forces of government, as well as the army, but they are searching for a more democratic form of living. Despite repeated - and often violent - attempts to suppress them, their will to resist remains unshakable. The film includes several violent sequences attesting to the brutality of the army's treatment of the revolutionaries. What gives THE SQUARE its true originality, however, is its refusal to be constrained within western-inscribed intellectual boundaries. Revolutions are supposed to be decisive, with one government supplanted by another; this film shows that the revolution in Egypt is a long one, and is still by no means concluded. The actor Khalid Abdalla, one of the main protesters, makes this point; after two years, certain reforms have been achieved, but the protests need to continue long-term. Revolutions are also supposed to be about ideology - the Russian Revolution, for instance, helped usher in communist rule. In Egypt, as with other countries in the region, the protesters don't necessarily have a coherent ideology (even though their concerns are obviously ideological); they are just looking for a form of government in which their voices can be heard. And perhaps most importantly, the subject-matter of THE SQUARE is not just about Egypt, but can also apply to other countries who have experienced similar protests - Tunisia, Syria and Turkey. If filmgoers want to learn more about the consequences of the so-called "Arab Spring" (a term which has been embraced by the west, but seems to me misleading), they should watch this film. Essential viewing.

adiavega240 This documentary is about people fighting and standing up for what they want and believe in. I think the purpose of this documentary is to stand up for what you believe in, and have the courage to stand up for you and fight for what you and everybody else needs. I didn't know that this happened to people and I didn't know some people in the world were denied access to basic human rights, it's sad and cruel what those people have to go through. They all risked a lot by standing and camping at the square; they were all breaking rules and defying the people in charge. This documentary showed a lot of courage and strength. It showed how strongly people care about their rights and how strongly they wanted to be treated like equals. I'd recommend this documentary to anyone who's interested in these types of things.