I’d like to begin my review of the “Triangle of Sadness” in the spirit of a well-known anecdote: a Russian oligarch, an American communist, an arms dealer, an IT specialist, and several impressive models somehow walk into a bar. But in this case, all these heroes are not in a drinking establishment, but on a luxury ship that Estlund has to go to the bottom according to his style trait. That’s what happens – the ship crashes at the coveted destination, and the few survivors find themselves on a tropical island.
These people from different class groups now have to unite for their own salvation, but bad luck – none of them are fit for survival. Abigail, the cleaning lady, is the only person who knows how to find food (fishing with her hands) and make a fire. Tired of serving the rich, a woman quickly tastes her own power: now everyone is dependent on her and begins to dictate her terms.
Life on the island turns into a terrible caricature of the notorious “and the last will be first.” Ten years ago, Andrey Zvyagintsev spoke to the audience about a similar problem of class fragmentation in his work “Elena”, and over the years it turned out that the situation has not only changed, but also worsened.
Östlund is a master of social satire, to which he dedicates all his films to some degree. The first Cannes film “Force Majeure” was about a family vacationing at a mountain resort in the Alps. One morning, a small avalanche falls and the rescue turns into a family tragedy: The father of the family rushes to save himself, leaving his wife and two children to chance. The women and children were saved, but it will not be possible to forget the cowardice of the wife.
The more aesthetic “The Square,” described the director of the Museum of Modern Art, who presents a unique art object designed to combat inequality and intolerance. At the same time, the director himself acted in the opposite direction. One of the main scenes of the movie was a dinner in a fancy restaurant, where a man imitating a large primate rushes to entertain the gathered public. Designed as a harmless joke, the performance quickly spiraled out of control when an addicted performer was nearly raped in front of baffled patrons.
Östlund’s desire to once again pull a person out of their comfort zone and face terrible danger is the central motif of the “Triangle of Sorrow”. The movie begins with a hilarious cast and fashion show, followed by the “All are equal” phrase-manifesto. At the same time, only models that meet generally accepted “beauty standards” go on the podium. So is everyone equal or is someone more equal?
Östlund admits that he conceived the film as a reflection of beauty, which is often a form of currency. His wife works as a fashion photographer and told him a lot about the behind the scenes of the fashion industry. But the Swedish director wouldn’t be himself if he hadn’t tried to take down all the arrogance of civilization from the beautiful and not-so-heroic.
The “Triangle of Sadness” (by the way, its name refers to the conditional triangle located between the eyebrows and above the bridge of the nose – where Botox is more often injected) is divided into three parts. The first explores the personal relationship of model couple Carl and Yaya, who fell in love (the actress who portrayed him, Charlbi Dean, passed away tragically in August of this year). Teenagers are having dinner at an expensive restaurant but can’t split the bill because Yaya earns more but wants to get paid for it and Carl earns much less and can’t afford to keep entertaining his girlfriend all the time.
The next episode is a vacation on a ship captained by the communist hero Woody Harrelson, who goes on a spree. A scene you won’t be able to forget for a long time is dinner during a storm; rich jockeys, overly fond of flavors, begin to bring everything back. The triumph of the evening will be the breakdown of the sewage system: human excrement will no longer just flow through the pipes, but tearing them apart, staining all the luxury of an expensive lining. It is ironic that the Russian oligarch, who would later be among the survivors, immediately admitted that he made a fortune by selling fertilizers for the agricultural industry.
The final chapter is life on the island, where Abigail transforms from a quiet servant to a woman enjoying her power. After all, expensive Swiss watches, jewelery and all the social capital acquired are useless in the face of fear of death.
The presentation of the cynical “Triangle of Sorrow”, about the conflict between the rich and the poor, at Cannes is symbolic. On the one hand, the European public is more open to such stories, and on the other hand, at the premiere screenings of the main European festival, the hall is full of just such wealthy people, rustling the edges of luxurious dresses and hanging expensive jewelry. . Do they understand the solemn judgment of Östlund, who may not put zero on this planet but believes less and less in humanity with each passing year?
The Triangle of Sadness is a clever and entertaining movie that can be read in many different ways. Because despite all the creativity of the plot, Östlund himself does not hesitate to use “head-to-head” visual techniques from time to time. As in Julio Cortazar’s Classic Game, the chapters of the Triangle of Sorrow can be read in a different order, resulting in different versions of the story. There are many interpretations of Östlund’s painting, but none of them are comforting.