Sat March 4 — 7 pm

Thurs Mar 9 — 1:30 pm

2 hr 29 min
PG
Comedy

Sat Mar 4 ONLY:
After Film Salon hosted by Jason Schreurs

Ruben Ostlund won the top prize at Cannes for this preening, obvious satire of contemporary hypocrisy, where influencer couple Carl and Yaya (Harris Dickinson and Charlbi Dean) join a luxury cruise for the super-rich. While the crew bends over backwards to accommodate the passengers’ whims (even one woman’s insistence that the entire staff stops what they are doing to enjoy a swim), the captain refuses to leave his cabin before the mandatory dinner given in his name—a tumultuous banquet which coincides with a dire turn in the weather.

Östlund retains his knack for hitting on potent and provocative situations—the banquet is an unforgettable, uproarious set piece presided over by a gloriously unflappable, stiffly inebriated Woody Harrelson. Östlund really turns the screws in the film’s second half, when a shipwreck upends the social hierarchy and suddenly, all bets are off. Granted, most of the characters are truly awful and the satire is subtle as a baseball bat.

The final act takes place on the shores of what seems to be an uncharted desert isle, where the survivors obligingly act out an allegory about power and human nature. It’s Swept Away meets Gilligan’s Island. Yet the movie keeps building and damn if we don’t care about them by the end. It’s a must-see.

Winner: Palme d’or, Cannes 2022