One of the most talked about scenes in this year’s film includes Robin Ostlund’s ‘Sorrow Triangle’ of Illness.
For director of photography Frederic Wenzel and production designer Josephine Osberg, planning for such a complex scene began two years before principal photography.
The second movie takes place on a luxury yacht, and culminates with the Captain’s Dinner. Improperly timed with a storm that shook the boat so hard, the dinner caused nearly everyone on the boat to succumb to seasickness, i.e., projectile vomiting. It starts slowly at first, but the increasingly chaotic scene stretches 15 minutes and ends in a whirlwind of vomiting, diarrhea, and raw sewage.
Wenzel recalls, “The first time the three of us talked about it, we actually went to the SFX warehouse where they built a small rocker hub for a smaller package.” To understand the physics required for the scene, the team first set up a table and chair and took turns experiencing the sensation.”
This was an invaluable exercise. Says Åsberg, “It was interesting to test the angle. How is it sitting? When do you feel the effects of movement? When do chairs start sliding? We tried different angles and discussed the different effects.”
Once they know the basic logistics of how to create the storm, the divisions can begin their work, which includes building a platform on a hydraulic lift two meters off the ground. Åsberg began designing the dining room, hallway, and luxury rooms. The Storm Sequence was always part of her planning process. We were discussing the various details that were moving with the group. What kind of blinds do we have? Will they move? Can we put things that roll in the cabin? “
When Wenzel’s team chose the equipment, lighting, and camera angles, their next step was to find out the most specific details. He explains that they were “trying to build it slowly, like building toward some sort of climax within the scene. How often do they actually vomit on camera? And when does that happen? To start building an arc within the film in that part of the scene, and to mark the moment when it all explodes.”
In order to build on a crescendo that includes bursting restrooms, flooded luxury rooms, and sliding people in vomit along hallways, the action must begin slowly. Actors are equipped with tubes attached to their faces through which the SFX team can blast realistic-looking textures and create the desired effect. Osberg recalls the many conversations she had with Ostlund about color and consistency, including octopus pieces for one passenger and pieces of shrimp for another, as well as the right shades of raw sewage that might ooze out of toilets.
Since the action takes place within the framework of the Captain’s Dinner, they filmed various vomiting scenes over many days, usually in conjunction with other scenes. While having a conversation at one table, another person is in the background, running towards the door and getting sick on the way. This made cleaning and resetting a quick process.
Wenzel and Åsberg were particularly impressed with 64-year-old actress Sunnyi Melles, of which Wenzel says, “I’ve never met an actress willing to go further.” Osberg details the layout of the scene in which her character ends up naked to a slip and holed up in her bathroom, clinging to her ceramic lifeline. “She was sitting on the toilet and vomiting in the toilet. Then should she be sitting on the toilet and vomiting in the toilet? No, maybe we should try one where she’s sitting on the floor and vomiting in the toilet. Then we said she was doing that for a few minutes, so there must be some Vomiting on the floor. The floor was very shiny, then it started slipping with her body down. Then we filled with more pukes.”
“I remember thinking to myself, ‘This is one of those photos you never thought you’d take in your life,'” Wenzel says with an admiring laugh.
[ad_2]
