Triangle of Sadness

Östlund's sell-out with one luxurious fecal scene and a lot of populism that doesn’t offend anyone at all. In this respect, the Swedish merchant of cheap satire is the best in the world. As a filmmaker, however, he is obviously past his prime. Press play and summon Force Majeure. (01/02/2023)

“The only place socialism works is hell – and they don't need it there.” Triangle of Sadness is a satirical ode to the inevitable inequality in society. Balance is utopia. In terms of entertainment value, this dinner tasting from The Square colossally developed into a concert of absurdity on a luxury yacht trumps anything we have seen in the comedy genre in recent years. And it’s not even a comedy genre film. I also enjoyed the hard shocks of the panning camera. When you have something to say, you can repeatedly remind yourself that form is only a means of saying it. Just as all of the whimsical glamour propriety of the passengers on this grand voyage is unnecessary... I’m not giving the film a fifth star because the last, “island” third of the film falls short of the “boat” part in terms of both humor and the effectiveness of capping off the scenes. But the ending is excellent! (07/11/2022)

I understand that in a time when comic book adaptations and epic fantasy dominate the film landscape, Triangle of Sadness represents a sympathetic civilian deviation for a more adult audience. On the other hand, it is not an exceptional piece, let alone film of the year. After a promising start, where Östlund takes shots at the superficial world of modeling (I know, it's an easy target, but the hits are accurate), with each subsequent chapter it becomes increasingly annoyingly didactic. Not to mention that the middle part on the boat with the puking scene is somewhat funny, but it is also somewhat cheap humor that could also appear in undemanding Italian comedies from the 70s. I have higher expectations for satire. In my opinion, the casting is also problematic. Woody Harrelson functions as expected, Harris Dickinson delivers, and Vicki Berlin in the smaller role of the chief stewardess is interesting. Unfortunately, that exhausts my positive feelings about the ensemble. With all due respect to the prematurely deceased Charlbi Dean, she was merely a model cast in a film role, and I can think of a dozen actresses who, besides a glamorous face, could deliver acting performances two or three levels better. Dolly De Leon in her variation of the Rat King completely missed the mark, and Henrik Dorsin is forgettable. I will give it a weak four-star rating, but there is something missing here. The TV series The White Lotus was able to tell a similar story with considerably better results, and it's not just because of the larger space that a series offers. Overall impression: 70%. (11/18/2022)

Ruben Östlund delivers an excellent social satire in an endlessly entertaining and sometimes blisteringly funny form that seems to combine three films at once. The centrepiece of this distinctive work is, of course, the quite literal shitstorm in the middle of the plot, which almost seems to have dropped out of a Troma production and then floated out into the international waters of A-list cinema. It won't be a film for everyone, yet it is clearly the most significant highlight of this year's festival in Karlovy Vary and without a doubt one of the greatest film events of the year. When it gets a domestic theatrical release, put it in your calendar! [KVIFF 2022] (07/09/2022)

A cynical satire that cuts to the heart. Östlund shuffles the demons of today's society in an incredible way, dealing them out like cards to the each protagonist, but , above all, he entertains and is full of wit even in the most tense moments. The relatively little-known ensemble cast performs the best this year has to offer. Whether it's the king of shit Zlatko Burić, the capitalist Marxist Woody Harrelson or the downright modern couple Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean (God rest her soul). Taking away people's social status and shuffling the cards of importance is especially refreshing to watch these days. The film of the year will probably remain Top Gun: Maverick, but Triangle of Sadness is a close second, at least for me. It could even get an Oscar for Best Picture, it meets all the necessary requirements, though I’m not sure if any of the characters was non-binary, maybe the one that couldn’t speak... (12/23/2022)