The Square

The Arab Spring: A scene from The Square

Time Investment: 95 min.
Return on Investment: 87 min.

History tends to focus on glorious moments of change, but not the intricacies of what happens next. And that is exactly what makes the 2013 documentary The Square (now streaming on Netflix) so fascinating. Compiled from footage shot by three different activists, The Square constructs the narrative of what happened after the Egyptian people gathered in Tahrir Square and successfully overthrew military leader Hosni Mubarak in 2011. These three activists couldn’t be more different; a successful Hollywood actor, an eager Egyptian youth and a conflicted member of the Muslim Brotherhood, the oppressed religious faction that would quickly come to power—and just as quickly be ousted. The three start off as friends, united by their country’s potential. But as the restructuring goes horribly awry in the months after Tahir, we see the men struggle to agree on exactly what kind of future Egypt should have.

The Square provides an unprecedented and important look at the politics of revolution. We all know Tahir was the site of the first protest, but it continued to be a gathering place for these activists as they saw their dreams of a democratic Egypt slowly slip away. And we have all heard how social media and mobile video played a major role in the overthrow of Mubarak, but The Square shows us how, first hand. An exciting combination of diary, reportage and historical archive, The Square will hopefully serve as a testament to the complexity of this important moment in Egypt’s history.