Triangle of Madness

Palme D’Or winners at Cannes come in different shapes, sizes, and potential.

For every groundbreaking vintage such as AMOUR, DANCER IN THE DARK, or PULP FICTION, there are a series of tedious bores like I, DANIEL BLAKE or even Ruben Östlund’s own 2017 winner, THE SQUARE.

In comes something like 2022 winner TRIANGLE OF SADNESS (aka SANS FILTRE), which lands somwhere else altogether. And this one brings a quirky originality that may not be enough to make it the BEST film of 2022 or of Cannes’ history, but most likely one of the most memorable.

Let’s just say it may also be a more illuminated cousin of HBO’s The White Lotus, even if unafraid of bodily functions, to somewhat dreadful extremes.

Östlund’s tragicomic satire does not spare a chance to demarcate deep class divides between the filthy rich and the multicultural servants at their beck and call, all confined to a luxurious yatch in high seas.

Yet sometimes the satire oversteps the boundaries of cringe, turning sass intro crass.

But, like in the best Saramago novels, social stature is suddenly reshuffled, placing the ersatzs of a whole system on even keel.

What ensues could be the inspiration for countless debates.

There is no spoiler in sharing the endind is all but inconclusive. However the very conclusive premise is smartly developed, pitting Marxists vs. Keynesians, oligarchs vs. influencers, supermodels vs. super-geeks.

All of whom make their darned best to illustrate how even when the utopian “balance or power” is turned on its head, the results may be just as bad, resulting in an unsustainable system all the same.

This condensed thesis on humanity is a 2hr+ odyssey well-worth the time.

GoldenPalm #PalmeDOr Ruben Östlund Triangle of Sadness Charlbi Dean Kriek