But, in a sudden burst of a return to normal, I'm back at the theaters. And, with this particular film, it was a spontaneous excursion to the cinema all by myself one afternoon. I hadn't done that since March 2020.
The drawing card here was a movie I had heard about because it won Best Picture at the Cannes Film Festival. Its showing was followed by an eight minute standing ovation. Okay, let's see what this is all about.
Indeed, "Triangle of Sadness," stuck with a title that sounds like a soap opera, was a worthy indoctrination back to the multiplex. Directed by somebody named Ruben Ostlund, it is in English but was seemingly made by a production staff from all over Europe. It's an interesting 150 minute piece that is really three movie genres at once. Well, not really at once. Because it starts out as one thing, meanders to another, and then lands shockingly on a third.
The first 30 minutes or so is really a romantic comedy. Two young super models, Carl and Yaya, meet and decide to promote a relationship as their connection together will drive their social media numbers up as influencers. Talk about a modern plot.
Well, since they are truly of the beautiful people group, they are invited on a luxury yacht/hotel full of super rich people and a drunk captain (Woody Harrelson!!!) who rarely leaves his quarters.
On board, we meet both the guests and the wait staff who are very much aware that they are on a lower level than the others. There's lot of discussions about socialism and capitalism and often borders on becoming a NPR podcast. But we soon land on the second film genre---the disaster movie.
On a night when all the guests are being given a most exotic meal, a storm kicks up a la "The Poseidon Adventure." People are tossed about and they are indeed tossing up chunks and emitting copious amounts of diarrhea. This particular set piece is hilarious and lasts about twenty minutes. Mercifully, the torture is ended when an oddly placed hand grenade blows up the yacht.
Now we float literally to the third genre...the survival movie that has very "Lord of the Flies" undertones. There are about eight survivors (including Carl and Yaya) who wash ashore on a deserted island. Naturally, the mix is part rich and part wait staff and now nobody is really in charge. You definitely see where this is going.
"Triangle of Sadness" is never ever boring and always gives you something to chew over. It ends rather abruptly with no really clear conclusion, but it still does not cheat the viewer. I wouldn't give it an eight minute standing ovation, but my knees have a two minute limit.
Overall, it was fun to see and even more fun now that I am reviewing it. One note, however: the young girl playing Yaya died suddenly two months ago. A sad postscript to a decent film.
LEN'S RATING: Three-and-a-half stars.
Dinner last night: Long travel day. Nothing really.
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