The Square is an unpredictable film. One of its most startling and beloved moments occurs when a monkey randomly shows up in the apartment of Anne, a character played by Elisabeth Moss. When asked about that scene, director Ruben Östlund said that he included it because “Anything can happen in a movie when suddenly a monkey appears in an apartment.” He went on to state that “everything should have a monkey in it.”
As a lifelong fan of monkeys and apes, I am inclined to agree. Monkeys — which have tails — and apes — which don’t — aren’t natural actors. But when the right circumstances arise, monkeys and apes can elevate a movie.
Every Which Way But Loose would be a good buddy comedy even if Clyde were a human. But the fact that he is an orangutan lends an extra dimension to his relationship with Philo Beddoe, Clint Eastwood’s character. It makes their friendship more special because they can’t truly communicate. In addition, the fact that the protagonist is best friends with an orangutan prepares the audience for the film’s later absurdities, including Academy Award-winning actress Ruth Gordon shooting at neo-Nazi bikers.
Apes can also be a part of more serious moments in movies. The MVP franchise, in which a chimpanzee named Jack plays various sports, was nothing if not silly. But the first movie, MVP: Most Valuable Primate, has a sweet subplot about a deaf girl becoming friends with Jack via sign language.
Apes can be the subject of documentaries, such as Koko or Project Nim. These non-fictional films teach us about their habits and remind us that they are ultimately wild animals. Project Nim in particular shows the costs of meddling too much in the lives of apes, even if they add a certain something to our movies.
Humans will remain interested in stories about apes even if we stop using them as actors. Some of the most famous ape movies — King Kong and the Planet of the Apes franchise — use stop-motion or makeup to create the illusion of apes. The pleasure of seeing a monkey or an ape in a movie can be connected to one of art’s most famous purposes: providing a reflection of humanity. Östlund himself noted this when he said “human beings love looking at monkeys, because we are reflecting ourselves in looking at them.” Let us hope that human beings treat monkeys and apes with kindness and respect, and pay them well in fruit when we cast them in our movies.
The Square will be shown at the IU Cinema on December 9 at 7 pm and on December 10 at 6:30 pm. These screenings are part of the Cinema’s International Arthouse series.
King Kong was previously screened in 2013 as part of the City Lights Film Series.
Jesse Pasternack is a senior at Indiana University and the co-president of the Indiana Student Cinema Guild. He writes about film, television, and pop culture for the Indiana Daily Student. Jesse is a moderator at Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival and a friend of the Doug Loves Movies podcast. He has directed six short films.