Introduction

Do you know where the triangle of sadness is? It’s that invisible inverted triangle in the centre of your forehead that shows the wrinkles between your brows. See the photo below.

If you didn’t know, don’t fret. If it weren’t for the 2022 film, I wouldn’t have known where it was.

To be completely honest, Dolly de Leon was the reason I watched this show. I always feel giddy whenever I see a kababayan in international films. Like the usual, my boyfriend and I don’t have any clues of what the movie is about apart from the fact that a Filipino was in the cast, and that a lot of people are talking about it. While writing this reflection, I still haven’t read nor watched any other reviews to keep the authenticity of my thoughts. 

Let’s get into the film (spoiler alert!).

The film is divided into three parts:

I. Carl and Yaya (who should be paying for dinner)

Modelling is how Carl and Yaya make a living. Since Carl is just starting out, and Yaya is now on a runway for big brands, it has been a topic of discussion for both as to why Carl needs to pay for dinner ‘again’ instead of Yaya despite volunteering to do it the night before.

In this day and age, I always see that the results for the discussion of “who should pay dinner” are usually “men.” We grew up believing men should be the provider and that men should be the ‘wallet’ which, in my opinion, limits the views of heterosexual women when looking for their partners. While, yes, money is important and it should always be discussed, I think there is more to men that their financial capabilities and their wallet.

I grew up in a household where my mom makes money and my dad cooks and takes care of me, and I never found it weird. I view it as “life.” Despite not being spoiled with material things, my mom knows she has a meal and clean clothes to come home to after a long day of work.

In short, my answer to “who should pay dinner,” well, the one who agreed to pay for dinner. I think there shouldn’t be an unspoken discussion about it. If you invited someone for dinner and you’re going to pay, tell them. If someone asks you to dinner, ask them if they’re going to pay. I’m lucky to have a boyfriend who’s always upfront with things, and if you’re going on a date with a potential life partner, I think you should start with these kinds of conversations. There’s nothing wrong with it.

Going back to the film, Yaya admits that her not paying for dinner is not really about the money but it’s vying for the perfect husband for a supermodel, someone who can make her a trophy wife. Modelling is usually a job that expires. Your face and your body is what you need to get the money. They change with time, and you won’t get to have a job that requires the qualities you had back in the days.

They both realise that the “relationship” nothing more than a like-bait for their online followers, it is strictly for business. Carl however bets that this would turn into a real one.

II. The Yacht (the rich, the leech, and the bleach)

The second part of the film is the longest part. There is a lot to unpack. It revolves around a luxury cruise where Carl and Yaya got on for free (because of business.) b

This trip has 3 groups of people:

a. The first ones, let’s call them the “bleach.” They are the cleaning crew and other team members who do maintenance around the ship.

b. I will call the second ones the “leech.” They are the ones who get to show themselves and bond with the cruise guests.

c. The last ones are the “rich.” The people who paid to be in this cruise.

Disclaimer, I have not been on any cruise. Everything I know about it I learned at work (I do destination research), from stories from my friends, and this film.

Each of the groups has their own goals in this part of the film. For the bleaches, it’s to make sure every spot is clean, and every commands by the leech for the rich is attended to.

The goal of the leeches is to satisfy the riches as much as they can to get as much tips as they can (as the scene suggested at around 26 minutes).

Lastly, the riches’ goal is to feel like royalty in a thousands of euros worth of trip. When you pay for a service, you expect to get your money’s worth. That is what our rich friends are after.

Travelling is not cheap, but it is such great thing to look forward to at least once a year! Since people do spend much to get in these kinds of experiences, they indeed deserve to get everything they paid for.

It’s exactly the reason why Carl thought he had to report resulting in termination the Greek crew member who Yaya called “hot” when he took his shirt off while working in scorching hot sun where every one is barely wearing anything.

It’s also the reason why Vera (the wife of the Russian businessman, Dimitry) thought it’s logical to ask all the staff to take a day off and enjoy the sea with her.

The repercussion of this action? Everyone getting sick during the Captain’s dinner since the crew who were supposed to prepare the food had to swim, too.

Chaos ensued after the Captain’s dinner. The only time where the captain showed, the ship was facing strong waves and no one is driving the ship, the guests were battling food poisoning, and a Russian capitalist (Dimitry) and an American communist (The Captain) is broadcasting their debate about Marx’s “Communist Manifesto.”

In a stressful night, everyone is trying to hold on for dear life, other forces are trying to hold on theirs too. A boat of pirates sails close to the ship, a grenade is thrown, we know what happens next.

III. The Island (where the ship and tables have turned)

After the ship exploded, everyone somehow landed on an island. This part is unclear to me. Half of the passengers of the ship are missing and only and handful of people are shown: Paula (the only leech on the island), Abigail (the only bleach), Carl, Yaya, Dimitry, Nelson, Jarmo, and Therese (all of them rich).

The luxurious amenities of the ship is now washed away. No money, no cabins, or anything. They can only rely on themselves to survive and hope to get found. Good thing a container with emergency food has come afloat on the shore!

While Paula still tries to accommodate the guests she is tasked to do in the ship, Abigail would have none of it. Originally the head of sanitation, Abigail is now the leader of the stranded tribe in this island. She is responsible for catching food and making fire. All the things they need she can provide, and the rest is now leeching off of her.

What else can you give to the table aside from survival skills? Your body. As awkward as it may be, some people also use their body to survive these type of scenarios. A young man like Carl need to survive, presuming he came from a privileged background, he may not have all the means knowledge necessary to keep a life on an island, but he does have a body who can satisfy the person who can.

It has been a hot topic, and people laugh at the situation, but who cares? The main goal now is to be alive while waiting for rescue.

Yaya who originally doesn’t want anything to do with Carl, feels devastated about the rendezvous he and Abigail is having. Without everything at her disposal, her goal now is to have someone care for her and accompany her in this desperate moment.

Everyone make use of their time in the island trying to see the sun again tomorrow. The rich people learned how to hunt and make fire. Abigail was able to gather as much treasure as she can from the rich ones in the island. They are not divided into a group of wealth anymore. They just need to survive.

Towards the end of the movie, Abigail and Yaya venture out the mountain to hike. At the end of their hike, they saw an island resort which could save them from their current situation. Abigail doesn’t seem happy with this, and is shown wanting to attack Yaya from behind. The latter stares at the scenery ahead of her and offers Abigail a job with her when they come back to their main lands.

Overall Thoughts

Too Long

The two-hour film could honestly be condensed probably in 30 minutes. I feel like some of the scenes were dragged out for a more intense effect when it isn’t needed that much.

Rich vs Poor

It is not news that the gap between the top 1% and the rest of us is appalling. It is, however, dangerous to think that all rich people are evil. Most of the ones we know are, but let us not dismiss the ones who use their money and power to do something good in the world. Whether they just want to wash away their conscience or whatnot, having something done for the better is something.

Power

I love how the film portrays that power doesn’t only come from money. It can be beauty, it can be catching fish, it can be socialising. Anything you know you can do great, you can find power in it.

The Pirates and The Crash?

I think this was such a missed opportunity. They came out so randomly and I would have thought something funny would happen between the pirates and the survivors. Like imagine one of them has sweet talked their way enough to be close friends and have them eat in their houses or whatever. I am thinking as a comedy fan, nothing should be taken so seriously.

And whatever happened to the rest of the ship? They have lifeboats! Did they swim in a different island? Did they drown? Did they die during the explosion? The last part of the film seems lacking despite the long runtime.

The Triangle of Sadness

So… what is the significance of the Triangle of Sadness here? Is it because everyone is always in different levels of a triangle waiting to be the one on top? Is it because during the entire film you have your eyebrows crunched watching the film? (credits to my boyfriend, he said this) Is it because everyone was just sad and is trying to go through life? (Don’t we all?) I think the film wanted to talk about everything, and it’s somehow confusing they didn’t.

Will I Watch It Again

No. I think 2 hours is an awful long time to go through a disconnected film with a strong but somehow confusing message. I studied to look through themes of audiovisual arts. I do understand art is always open for interpretation, and this is how I interpreted it.

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