Film: I Dream of Cannes

Matt reviews Triangle of Sadness and Decision to Leave, now playing locally.

This week Matt dives into two films that hit big at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Both should be on the shortlist for multiple award nominations at this year's Oscar ceremony. 

Triangle of Sadness

Spill the tea: Triangle of Sadness was this year's Palme D’or winner at the Cannes Film Festival, the second for Swedish director Ruben Östlund. Over its two-hour-plus runtime, this satire hits you over the head as it dissects themes of vanity, capitalism, and the patriarchy. Viewed through the eyes of influencer models and the wealthy elite as they converge on a $250 million private yacht, it often feels like a “Below Deck” episode on steroids. The boat itself seems like a character as its classes of accommodations highlight  classism between the characters on screent. The question  of what  is right and what is fair looms over scenes throughout the film.

Past the vapid exchanges and transactional interactions  at the front of the film, we leave the boat covered in the muck of these terrible people (yes even worse than the smell on the boat itself) to a fun adventure in the third act. While I laughed at quips throughout, the ham fisted writing dragged a bit as it  made sure we understood “the point”. Some may say this farce, over the top and sometimes  grotesque, is too much. But at the end of the day, Östlund delivers albeit not at the same biting level as Force Majeure (2014) or The Square (2017). Expect a few  Oscar nominations for this film as Östlund ascends the ranks of  the global film community.

Star of the show: Noam Chomsky? While his ideas are ever present , the real star is Filipina actress Dolly de Leon who plays bathroom maintenance worker turned survivalist Abigail. She explodes to command the screen as the film moves forward.

Best ten minute stretch: Woody Harreslon who plays the ship’s boozy skipper holds the extremely formal captain's dinner during a squall. All the gold plated silverware and escargot could not save the passengers in a scene which makes the dress fitting scene in Bridesmaids feel like a walk in the park. It ends with the socialist captain and a pro-capitalist Russian oligarch spouting off quotes ranging from Reagan to Marx at each other to tie the mayhem neatly together. 

Stay away if: If satire is not your forte especially when dissecting global capitalism or the wealth distribution crisis. That and excrement…

Coulda used a little more… time spent with the ship's crew to really harbor (no pun intended) their disdain for their wealthy patrons above. 

Matt at the Movies Score: Recommend - 7.0/10 (okay to wait until it’s streaming)

Breakdown: Pieces together the overall “vibe” this movie brings from other releases.

Decision to Leave

Spill the tea: Decision to Leave is a cat and mouse noir woven  through a quirky love story. Set in Busan, South Korea, and eventually the smaller coastal town of Ipo, we see an insomniatic detective merge into the life of a Chinese immigrant nurse who’s husband has just perished from unknown circumstances. Jang the detective is haunted by the cases he cannot solve. As he stakes out the life of the enigmatic widow Song Seo-rae, performed with amazing restraint by Tang Wei, he begins to fall for her. Interrogations morph into  dates. Text and voice messages take on a different meaning than they had when they were only evidence. Soon, we are not even sure who is following whom as the lines blur. Jang must decide if pride and duty will overcome newfound love as he tries to locate the  killers. This film becomes more muddied and unpredictable the longer it plays out.

Director Park Chan-wook broke onto the scene with the lyrical,  violent thriller Oldboy in 2003. He garnered high acclaim in 2016 with The Handmaiden and is back with his new work Decision to Leave. This year's Cannes winner for best director has already received confirmation as  the official nomination for South Korea in the Best International Feature in the upcoming Oscar ceremony. With recent entries like Burning (2018) and Parasite (2019) it’s hard to look away from what is being accomplished in the South Korean film industry  (I see you as well Train to Busan!).

Star of the show: With all kudos to the leads, this story belongs to the director Park Chan-wook. His ability to work through the cases as a silent observer is masterful. Just as with Oldboy, Chan-wook  gives us just enough with each character to keep us guessing. But the restraint he shows, especially in developing the relationship of Jang and Song, is what makes this more than a murder mystery. He uses the settings of mountains and foggy seaside coastlines to add intrigue to the story. Lastly, his integrated usage of modern technology in solving cases was done with just the right amount of nuance to be both important and seamless.

Best ten minute stretch: When Detective Jang starts to discover hidden meanings behind new evidence, he confronts Song about her true motives. These conversations are layered with  emotion and leave you wondering what is real. This structure repeats  throughout the film.

Stay away if: Multiple looping plotlines combined with sociopathic love sounds like mixing milk and whisky together.

Coulda used a little more… time spent with Detective Jang and his wife to flesh out some of his personal issues. It all felt a bit rushed, even with a run time over two hours.

Matt at the Movies Score: Recommend - 8.0/10 (Head to Independent Picture House while it’s still in theaters!)

Breakdown: Pieces together the overall “vibe” this movie brings from other releases.