Sean Baker calls Ruben Östlund’s ‘Triangle of Sadness’ his “favourite film in years”
The American filmmaker Sean Baker has named Ruben Östlund’s Palme d’Or-winning movie Triangle of Sadness his “favourite film in years”.
Taking to Twitter, the director of Red Rocket and The Florida Project wrote, “My favorite film in years. Decades actually. So happy for this release,” beside an image of the newly-announced Criterion edition of Östlund’s latest movie. Enamoured by the satire of the super-rich, Baker’s comments join his passionate initial reaction that he posted to the same social media site back in late 2022, commenting: “Seeing this masterpiece with a full house at Beyond Fest was about as fun as movie going gets”.
Östlund’s most recent movie has proved to be divisive among fans and critics alike, with the heavy-handed social commentary being too much for some yet appropriately weighted for others. Starring Harris Dickinson, Woody Harrelson, Zlatko Burić, and the late Charlbi Dean Kriek, the movie tells the story of a cruise for the super-rich that starts with luxurious bliss and ends in absurd chaos.
Operating on both sides of the same style, whilst Sean Baker prioritises authenticity, shooting his films as if they are documentaries, Östlund prefers to extract the absurdity within similar situations, operating a similar minimalist style but with heightened moments of hilarity. Both are proven lovers of comedy, however, with Östlund’s films teeming with awkward laughter and Baker’s oozing with everyday charm and humour.
Seizing the number 15 spot on our best movies of 2022 list, Far Out considered Triangle of Sadness to uncover “the ugliness of economic inequality slowly but methodically. It’s a trenchant critique of late capitalism from a filmmaker who is undoubtedly growing increasingly disillusioned with each passing year”.
Take a look at Baker’s comments, as well as the electrifying trailer for the movie, below.
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