Swedish director Ruben Östlund has won the Palme d’Or for the second time. His satire “Triangle of Sadness” was honored with the most important prize at the Cannes Film Festival.
“When we started this film, we really only had one goal: to make a film that interests the audience, that provokes them and makes them think,” Östlund said at the ceremony.
Östlund won the Palme d’Or in 2017 for “The Square”. The 48-year-old is known for his humorous and scathing studies of human behavior, and he presents one in “Triangle of Sadness.” The film is a satire on the world of influencers and the super-rich. Among other things, he plays on a luxury yacht. After being hijacked by pirates, some of the ship’s travelers are stranded on an island where hierarchies are reversed. Because an employee who took care of the toilets on the yacht is the only one who can catch fish, make fire and thus ensure the survival of the people.
“Triangle of Sadness” is about the absurdity of capitalism, power relations and social inequality. Iris Berben can be seen in a supporting role: she plays a ship passenger who has a speech disorder after a stroke and can only say the sentence “In the clouds” and sometimes “No”. She is also among the travelers stranded on the island.
Second most important award for “Stars at Noon”
The film caused a lot of laughs when it premiered at the film festival. It was probably the most garish and funniest contribution. The two films that won the Grand Jury Prize, the second most important award at the festival, struck a more calm tone. This year it was the French filmmaker Claire Denis (“Stars at Noon”) and the Belgian Lukas Dhont for “Close”.
“Stars at Noon” follows the American journalist Trish (Margaret Qualley), who is stuck in Nicaragua because of a critical political article and meets a mysterious businessman named Daniel (Joe Alwyn), who profits from the politically unstable conditions in Nicaragua. Trish and Daniel fall in love, and their attraction is lustfully staged for much of the film as the plot takes a backseat. “Close” is a sensitive coming-of-age film about the special friendship between two boys that ends in tragedy.
Awards for Tsar Amir Ebrahimi and Song Kang-ho
The best director award went to Park Chan-wook (“Decision to Leave”). Iranian actress Zar Amir Ebrahimi accepted the award for best actress. In Ali Abbasi’s “Holy Spider” she embodies a courageous journalist who is on the trail of a serial killer. South Korean Song Kang-ho won Best Actor for his role in Hirokazu Koreeda’s “Broker.”
The Jury Prize was awarded to “Le Otto Montagne” by Charlotte Vandermeersch and Felix Van Groeningen and equally to “EO” by Jerzy Skolimowski. The Swede Tarik Saleh was honored with the award for the best screenplay for his film “Boy from Heaven”. A special honor was given to Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, who are regulars at the film festival. On the occasion of their 75th anniversary they were honored with a special prize for their film “Tori and Lokita”. (dpa)