USA
94 minutes
5 stars out of 5
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I continue to disappear into the æther for long periods of time (I'm moving, it's going not very good), but I now return briefly to talk about one of my favorite movies in the world.
(You should listen to Polygondwanaland by King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard a lot before watching this movie. It makes sense, just trust me.)
The Triangle is a faux-documentary that is both incredibly authentic and extremely subtle. It begins with a road trip montage, not too dissimilar from a thousand other road trip montages you've probably seen before, but in the context of this film - which took about three years to edit, supposedly, and was directed by five different people, all of whom also shared writing credits - you get the sense that this is actual, real footage of an actual, real road trip. The characters (if we can even call them that) are familiar with each other in the way real friends are, and the narrative renders it unnecessary for them to introduce themselves to us: we feel like we know them even from before the film begins; that's just the way things are set up.
Looking at reviews, I see that a lot of people regard the first two acts before the big finale as being kind of slow. I wouldn't disagree with this, but I also think that build-up is absolutely crucial. The way this movie evolves is unpredictable, low-key and, when it finally climaxes, somehow utterly terrifying. Without the sun-baked hippie nonsense of the first hour, none of that would hit nearly as hard.
Something of the overall theme of the movie (again, if there can be said to be a theme) is foreshadowed a bit in how insignificant the characters feel, and how de-centered their activities in the commune turn out to be when all is said and done. The characters are all just there, doing stuff, saying stuff, having opinions, the way real people do. The film seems to be pointing us in the direction of certain individuals. notably Rizzo, the leader of the cult-commune-thing, who comes off somewhat abrasive and we are primed to distrust him due to his status as pretty much a cult leader, but when shit hits the fan Rizzo actually turns out to be a good guy. The movie doesn't let the human characters get in the way of the overall story but at the same time it filters what is going on at the commune through human eyes, and the end result of this is a sense - which I am sure is exactly what the filmmakers were aiming for - that we're watching something happen that is unfathomably larger than a handful of individuals cooking lasagna in the desert and sleeping in yurts.
I love, and I have to emphasize LOVE, the way this movie culminates. I still have never seen anything like it. Nothing is ever, ever explained. We get hints of some kind of prophetic dream but not enough of it for us to be able to interpret it. That's the key here, I think: there's no way to interpret anything, it's all just happening. It can't be known. It just is.
There's not much else I can say about this without going into spoilers. This is really one of those movies that came out of nowhere, and despite not getting any fanfare now or close to its release, it still lives on in my heart next to Banshee Chapter as one of the most unique things I've ever seen. And, hey, technically counts as a KaiJune pick since it sort of has a monster in it. Maybe?
