The Socialist, The Architect and the Twisted Tower chronicles the intriguing (and twisted) story behind the design and construction of world famous architect Santiago Calatrava's “Turning Torso,” Europe's tallest residential building. The tower uses nine five-story cubes that twist as they rise, with the top-most segment turned a complete ninety degrees clockwise from the ground floor. It is a spectacular structure and an even more spectacular project riddled with skyrocketing costs, outsized egos, and at its heart, a debate between new capitalism and old socialist ideals.

For Calatrava, known primarily for public works (such as the Athens Olympic complex and the new World Trade Center Transportation Hub), it is an opportunity to design his first skyscraper. For the city of Malmö, and particularly for Johnny Orback, Board Chairman of the Malmo branch of the co-operative housing association (HSB), an organization rooted in the Swedish welfare tradition, it is a chance to become a European city of the 21st century, an example of a modern international metropolis with a fitting architectural monument at its center.

For both men, there is plenty at stake. But as the project progresses, numerous problems come to the forefront. Costs are beginning to run wild, way over the agreed-upon budget; Calatrava is never available, always working on one of his many other projects; and for the HSB, the issue of whether this tower is worth it, whether its more important to spend the money on middle class housing, becomes more pressing everyday.

The Socialist, the Architect, and the Twisted Tower documents this extraordinary struggle. As Calatrava fights for his integrity and vision, Johnny Orback attempts to placate the HSB, pressing for increased funds and trying to keep the project from getting abandoned mid-construction. It is a film as much about architecture as it as about the clashing of two radically different ideologies.

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For more information, visit The Cinema Guild.
For more on Calatrava, visit his homepage.