Triangle of Sadness + Pretzel Sticks

Plus a Brief Look at Over-Consumption in Film

Mar 26, 2024

Filled with dark comedy, satire, thrills, marxism, and pretzel sticks, Triangle of Sadness is not a timid film.

The story follows Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean Kriek), two genetically blessed and romantically linked models/influencers. After we watch Carl audition for a modeling gig and squabble with Yaya about who should pay for their dinners out at expensive restaurants, we follow the couple onto a luxury cruise they were “gifted” in exchange for posting about it on their socials.

After a tumultuous storm hits the ship, all hell breaks loose. Guests become violently seasick in the middle of their gourmet dinner, and the drunk captain (Woody Harrelson) spends his evening waxing philosophy with a Russian Oligarch guest (Zlatko Burić) instead of steering the yacht out of harm’s way. The unrelenting series of unfortunate events only continues from there.

The Comedic Sensibility of Ruben Östlund

I first became familiar with Writer/Director Ruben Östlund’s work when his short film Incident by a Bank (2010) was finally making the rounds in my circles years after its release. The short was fascinating, but ultimately slipped in and out of my mind as many shorts do. It wasn’t until my wise sister-in-law (a talented photographer) introduced me to Östlund’s Force Majure (2014) — a story following a man’s selfish actions during a dangerous event and the subsequent fallout with his wife and children — that I realized the comedic genius we were dealing with here.

Östlund has the ability to take the most drab and overplayed topics of our time, fluff them up, and refresh them until you are so wildly entertained that the moral takeaway from the film is barely registered until you’re leaving the cinema.

By this measure, I found Triangle of Sadness to be Östlund’s magnum opus, fully representative of his comedic chops and mastery of the cinematic form.

Some critics have been disappointed by the unsubtle nature of the film (as I was with Don’t Look Up). If Triangle of Sadness had stopped with its “Part Two” I may have been inclined to agree. Luckily for us, the film’s third act turns the volume up to eleven.

I’m afraid some spoilers will be necessary from here on out, but all the more reason for you to watch this film ASAP!

Part Three of Triangle of Sadness begins after a storm and a pirate attack result in a shipwreck with only a handful of survivors. It soon becomes clear the only person with any survival skills is Abigail (Dolly De Leon), a member of the ship’s cleaning staff. She quickly wields her newfound power to take control of the group, ultimately leading to Carl engaging in the world’s oldest profession in exchange for pretzel sticks, the elite currency for all those stranded on deserted islands.

Yaya is understandably jealous. Her boyfriend has been stolen and for the first time in her life, she’s left starving and alone. Just as the rivalry between Abigail and Yaya is coming to a head, the two women discover a high-end resort on the island, and they know a rescue will shortly follow. The film ends on an ethical cliffhanger that asks audiences to fill in the blanks. What would constitute a happy ending depends on what type of person you are, and what you think is morally correct.

La Grand Bouffe + Triangle of Sadness

Fittingly, Triangle of Sadness was released just shy of 50 years after La Grand Bouffe (1973, or The Big Feast), another farcical movie utilizing food as a tool to expose the one percent’s tendency to turn their selfishness up to eleven — the point of self-destruction. These two films share similar philosophical seeds, but their difference in premises can be attributed to their difference in comedic and cinematic sensibilities.

While both films are revolting, La Grand Bouffe is disgusting in ways that just aren’t entertaining to most modern audiences. (Think jokes fit for twelve-year-old boys.) When watching La Grand Bouffe, I was able to look down at my phone any time there was something truly sickening on screen and was able to understand the plot just fine.

By contrast, Triangle of Sadness manages to employ contemporary editing techniques, framing, composition, and comedic timing to deliver a lengthy vomit-centric scene that makes you feel like you can’t look away, lest you miss something important. Triangle of Sadness is purposefully shocking, no doubt, but each shot moves the story forward in a way that I found more impactful. Where La Grand Bouffe concludes, Triangle of Sadness is just getting started.

Charlbi Dean Kriek, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, and Joni Mitchell

A wise woman once said: You don’t know what you got ‘till it’s gone. In Triangle of Sadness, Abigail is in paradise until she finds a parking lot. In the real world, we are missing Charlbi Dean Kriek, the film’s lead who passed away at age 32 during the film’s press tour. I have no doubt she was headed toward stardom. Despite her starring in an Oscar-nominated film, she was snubbed from the 95th Academy Award’s “In Memorium” segment. Well-behaved women seldom make history, but if there’s anything you take away from

Film Flavor with Via Marsh

, I hope it is to appreciate Dean Kriek’s work.

In the weeks to come, you can expect posts about the history of drive-in movie theater food, murderous movies and their penchant for candy, and deep dives into Hollywood’s favorite restaurants. Plus, stay tuned for an extra special surprise next week! Until we meet again…