After a wildly successful premiere during the Cannes festival in May 2022, satirist Ruben Östlund and NEON released the theatrical trailer for the dark comedy Triangle of Sadness. The film, which received an eight-minute standing ovation before winning a Palme d’Or, rips into uber-rich celebrity culture as a luxury cruise ship’s inhabitants find themselves marooned on a deserted island.
The trailer gives us a close glimpse of Östlund’s tongue-in-cheek style, bringing the naivete, entitledness, and sheer absurdity of ultra-wealthy life — from arms dealers to oligarchs — on full display. While the film centers on the perspectives of celeb-model couple Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), they soon cross paths with the ship’s Marxist-alcoholic captain, played by Woody Harrelson, who recently wowed fans with The Man From Toronto’s trailer.
Depicting the ugly side of wealth isn’t a new idea by any means, but it’s the exciting role reversal that happens later in the film that’s bound to draw interest. After watching a bunch of fat cats toss back champagne, only to throw it all up as the ship hits rough waters, some portion of the crew and guests onboard find themselves trapped on a lonely island in the middle of nowhere.
It’s here that the onboard hierarchy takes a sharp 180-degree-turn, with a cleaning lady (Dolly De Leon) being the only person capable of fishing amongst the survivors.
Joining Harrelson, Dickinson, Dean, and De Leon is Croatian actor Zlatko Burić, known for appearing in Nicolas Winding Refn’s Pusher trilogy. The cast also includes Iris Berben, Sunnyi Melles, Henrik Dorsin, Vicki Berlin, Oliver Ford Davies, and Arvin Kananian. De Leon is a specific highlight to watch out for — spotted in the trailer, the lone Filipino cast member is one of her nation’s biggest international stars, described as the film’s ‘acting giant’ by Variety’s Clayton Davis.
For Östlund, the film represents the 48-year-old Swede’s second consecutive Palme d’Or success after 2017’s The Square — another intelligent satire with disgustingly wealthy characters, set in the world of art installations, political correctness, and Östlund’s own experiences within the European art community.
Fans of his work are waiting excitedly for the film’s release. More than a few compared the film to Bong Joon-Ho’s Oscar-sweeping Parasite, which also offers a scathing commentary on the lives of the rich.
Triangle of Sadness is set to release in US theatres on October 8th, with expectations of an international launch following suit.
Lead Image: NEON
