Ruben Östlund has no problem being “tough” with his audience. The Swedish director behind wonderfully unsettling films like ‘Force Majuere’ and ‘The Square’ is also getting crowds squirming with his latest film, ‘Triangle of Sadness’.
Set on a luxury yacht where the 1% enjoy their privilege — until a shipwreck finds the wealthy relying on a maid named Abigail (played by BAFTA nominee Dolly de Leon), — “Triangle of Sadness” won the Palme d’Or at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, repeating the honor Östlund received for “The Square” in 2017. And now the film is nominated for three Academy Awards, including picture, director and original screenplay.
The distinctions come despite – or perhaps because of – his dark and satirical interpretation of gender roles and class warfare. Then there’s that vomit scene, which has to be the greatest in movie history. “I actually wrote in the script that I’m going to go 10 steps ahead of what the audience expects me to go,” Östlund revealed at this week’s show. Variety The Awards Circuit podcast. Listen below!
In a wide-ranging discussion, Östlund discusses the film’s ending, which has been the subject of much discussion since its premiere. Fair warning that spoilers will follow when the topic is brought up, mid-discussion.
Östlund also discusses another memorable Oscar moment — when he was sure “Force Majeure” would be nominated for foreign language film in 2015. He filmed himself and producer Erik Hemmendorff reacting to the announcement — only to be snubbed. The couple uploaded the video, with the sounds of Östlund crying hysterically and Hemmerndorff telling him not to undress. Östlund even remembers the exact title with which he ascended. “The Swedish director freaks out when he loses his Oscar nomination,” he recalls with a laugh. “You call it gallows humor, right?”
Dan Doperalski for Variety
Knowing the director’s style, many assumed the video was staged, while others thought it was completely real. It turns out the truth is somewhere in the middle. The video was actually shot in real time—but the sounds of Östlund grieving and Hemmerndorff talking down to him were added after the fact. “I’m like freaking out and crying the worst person ever,” she says. “It was a way of dealing with it.”
Östlund also teases a scene from his next film, “The Entertainment System is Down,” which will take place on a long-haul flight and sounds like another dark comedy. In the film, a plane’s entertainment system loses power and the passengers are “modern people who have to deal with boredom and their own thoughts.”
Östlund plans to include a scene where a young boy asks to borrow his older brother’s iPad and is told he has to wait five minutes. “And then I want to challenge the audience,” Ostlund teases. “You stay with the child in real time. And he looks in the catalog, puts it back in and the commotion comes. So he asks his mother “How many do we have left?”. And he says, “Well, it’s four minutes and 45 seconds now, you need to calm down.”
Östlund jokes that his goal is to create the biggest exit in Cannes history. “And I think it’s going to be more provocative than any violent, any disturbing content,” he says. “Because being alone with your thoughts and challenging the audience to do the same thing, then it’s going to be very interesting.”
Also in this episode: We sit down with “Everything Everywhere All At Once” directors Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert. The dynamic duo talk about the beginnings of their collaboration that began in film school, bringing together the extraordinary cast and crew of artisans, and what’s next in film and television. And the Round Table gives its predictions for the SAG Awards.
Dan Doperalski for Variety
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, produced by Michael Schneider, who also co-hosts with Clayton Davis, is your one-stop-shop for lively discussions of the best in film and television. Each week the “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top talent and creatives in cinema and television. debates and discussions about award races and industry headlines; and MUCH MORE. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you download podcasts. New episodes are posted weekly.
