‘Triangle of Sadness’ Shocks and Delights Cannes With Uproarious Seven-Minute Standing Ovation
The movie earned an uproarious seven-minute standing ovation after a lively screening that found the audience at Cannes’ Palais theater shrieking in a unsettling mixture of horror and delight.
Triangle of Sadness stars handsome actor Harris Dickinson (“Beach Rats” and “The Kingsman”) as an aspiring model who gets the chance to vacation aboard a luxury yacht after his influencer girlfriend wins them a free trip.
Woody Harrelson is hilarious in a supporting role as the yacht’s alcoholic captain.
The yacht is full of pretentious and snobby guests, but they all get their comeuppance courtesy of an extended sequence in which a storm leads to outbreak of seasickness.
This centerpiece scene earned perhaps the most rowdy reaction from the Cannes audience so far at the 2022 festival. Östlund draws out the build-up as the boat rocks and the guests are served oysters and elaborate seafood dishes. Eventually all hell breaks loose and eruptions of vomiting and pooping are shown in graphic detail.
The audience at the Palais shrieked, covered their eyes and roared with laughter. Some attendees were spotted walking out of the Palais balcony amid the sequence, but everyone else in the crowd responded with approval.
Triangle of Sadness is full of other moments that had the audience gasping in shock, but it’s best to leave the rest of the film unspoiled.
The Cannes crowd reacted with an 7-minute standing ovation that was far louder than the ovations Top Gun: Maverick and other films earned so far at the festival.
“What a wonderful screening,” Ostlund said when handed a microphone, “What an ensemble we had. Thank you so much!”
Östlund was last at Cannes with The Square in 2017, which won the Palme d’Or.
While there are many films left in competition to screen, the reaction to “Triangle of Sadness” hints that it could be a contender for one of the Cannes prizes.