Winner of the Palme d’Or in 2017 with ‘The Square’, Ruben Östlund has once again seduced Cannes con ‘The triangle of sadness’a new satire of the western world that ridicules the rich and the cult of money and beauty while claiming laughter and lightness.
“We wanted it to be a roller coaster for adults, entertaining and fun, to see it in a cinema together and have something to talk about when you leave,” explained the Swedish director this Sunday at a press conference.
In his first film in English and with an international cast that includes the American Woody Harrelson, Östlund wanted unite the best of European cinema, more given to the “intellectual” and the American, which prioritizes fun and entertainment. “Many times we Europeans are not a good audience, we sit down to watch the film serious, with our arms crossed,” said the director, satisfied that last night at the preview the audience at the Palais des Festivals de Cannes cheered on characters such as if it were a football match.
The movie is divided into three episodes, starts on a fashion show and ends on a desert island. The title, ‘The triangle of sadness’, alludes to the frown that many models are forced to hide with Botox because it is not acceptable in the fashion industry.
The first episode focuses on a couple of models and ‘influencers’, Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (newcomer South African actress and model Charlbi Dean) who get entangled in a discussion of gender roles following a dispute over the payment of an account. The world of fashion was Östlund’s gateway in this story, as he has explained. “Eight years ago I met my wife, who is a fashion photographer and she introduced me to that world, we started talking a lot about how beauty is treated as a market value and that it can be both attractive and terrifying.”
The second episode takes place on a luxury cruise ship. There is Carl and Yaya, but also a Russian oligarch who quotes Reagan, an endearing English couple who manufacture weapons or a lonely computer entrepreneur who give Rolex to make friends. In front of the yacht, a drunk and Marxist captain, played by Woody Harrelson, who has been delighted with the experience although he has clarified that he is actually an “anarchist” and not a communist.
“Working with Ruben has been an honor, one of the best experiences of my life, is a teacherit can make you extremely uncomfortable and make you think while making you laugh, quite a journey,” said the three-time Oscar-nominated actor.
Aboard the yacht, a storm during dinner with the captain puts the passengers in completely delusional situations that have unleashed laughter during the projection. But Östlund, greatly influenced by compatriots such as Roy Andersson, does not lose his compassionate gaze.
The final episode takes place on a desert island, where the poor ability of the rich with practical survival issues He turns the tables on the hierarchy and brings Abigail (Dolly de Leon), the Filipino woman in charge of cleaning the bathrooms on the yacht, to power. “For me it has been one of the reasons for wanting to make the film”, the actress pointed out, “that the most disadvantaged of us suddenly find ourselves in power and also in such a fun way”.
About his jump to english, Östlund has pointed out that it seemed “the most logical step” since it is his second language. “As a director you want to reach as many people as possible,” he said, but he also lamented the “Anglo-Saxon domination” of cinema and the media in general and admitted that he was concerned that the nuances he wanted to convey would be well understood.
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