The Six-Sided Triangle (1963) — AI Story Visualization

Plot Analysis Summary

A recurring marital triangle is reimagined through six national film styles, turning infidelity into a comic study of cinematic conventions.

Story Structure — 6 Plot Phases

Desert Revenge

The film introduces the eternal triangle through silent-cinema imagery, desert sheiks, tents, and Persian brocades. The Arab version turns the Husband's discovery into revenge.

Key Events

• The Eternal Triangle — The film establishes the husband, wife, and lover as its recurring triangle. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Abstract cinematic frame
• Silent Cinema Framework — The theme is introduced as a subject first explored by silent cinema. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Silent-cinema styled setting
• Desert Lovers Discovered — A desert setting presents the Husband discovering the Wife with the Lover. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Desert camp
• Persian Brocade Tableau — Persian brocades reinforce the deliberately stylized desert melodrama. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Desert tent
• Arab Husband's Revenge — The Arab version responds to the discovery with the Husband's revenge. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Desert camp

Rain and Whisky

The English variation replaces hot-blooded revenge with rain interrupting cricket. The marital crisis is handled through a compromise over whisky.

Key Events

• English Rain Arrives — The English variation shifts the triangle into rainy cricket culture. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: English cricket ground
• Cricket Match Stopped — Rain stops the cricket during the English treatment of the affair. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: English cricket ground
• Whisky Compromise — The English response favors a compromise over whisky. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: English domestic setting

Japanese Extremes

The Japanese version gives the triangle a severe response involving harakiri. It also presents resistance to American intervention.

Key Events

• Japanese Severity — The Japanese variation gives the triangle a severe and ritualized tone. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Japanese-styled setting
• Harakiri Response — The Japanese characters resort to harakiri in response to the situation. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Japanese-styled interior
• American Intervention — The Japanese treatment cannot stomach American intervention. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Japanese-styled setting

Italian Misreadings

The Italian treatment turns the affair into a parody of emotional language and subtitles. The Lover's feelings and the Husband's anger are deliberately mistranslated.

Key Events

• Italian Subtitle Style — The Italian version shifts emphasis toward stylized subtitles and emotional excess. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Italian-styled setting
• Misread Lover's Feelings — A subtitle renders the Lover's hot-blooded feelings as admiration for the Wife's bust. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Italian-styled interior
• Husband's Italian Anger — The Husband's anger is rendered through a comic Neapolitan marriage line. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Italian-styled interior

Swedish Gloom

A snow-bound Swedish house becomes a silent space of infidelity and temporal uncertainty. Poison and wild strawberries fail to stop the continuing affairs.

Key Events

• Swedish Winter House — The Swedish variation moves the triangle into silence, snow, and gloom. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Snow-bound Swedish house
• Handless Clock Ticks — A ticking handless clock fails to tell the time in the surrounding gloom. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Snow-bound Swedish house
• Poison and Strawberries — Poison and wild strawberries are consumed within the Swedish episode. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Snow-bound Swedish house
• Infidelities Continue — The infidelities continue even after the poison and strawberries. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Snow-bound Swedish house

French New Wave Surprise

The final variation uses excessive handheld camerawork and follows a search for a cigarette. Repeated “ça va?” leads into a surprise ending.

Key Events

• French New Wave Shift — The final national treatment adopts French New Wave style and excessive handheld camerawork. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: French New Wave styled setting
• Search for a Cigarette — The Lover searches for a cigarette during the French-styled episode. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: French New Wave styled setting
• The Repeated Question — The phrase “ça va?” appears to cover most of the emotions. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: French New Wave styled setting
• Surprise Ending — The French New Wave treatment ends with a surprise. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: French New Wave styled setting
• Six Styles Reframed — The same triangle has been parodied through six national cinematic styles. Characters: The Husband, The Wife, The Lover Location: Abstract cinematic frame

Story Breakdown

• Triangle Setup — The Husband, Wife, and Lover form the stable dramatic pattern used throughout the film.
  • Eternal Triangle — The film establishes the husband, wife, and lover as its central theme.
  • Silent Cinema Roots — The theme is linked to the earlier traditions of silent cinema.
• Desert Revenge — The opening variation uses desert melodrama and an Arab husband's revenge.
  • Persian Brocades — Tents and Persian brocades create an intentionally exotic visual style.
  • Arab Retribution — The Husband reacts to the discovered affair through revenge.
• English Compromise — The English treatment lowers the temperature through rain, cricket, and whisky.
  • Rain Stops Cricket — Rain interrupts the cricket setting during the marital crisis.
  • Whisky Agreement — The conflict is redirected into a compromise over whisky.
• Japanese Extremes — The Japanese variation transforms the triangle into a severe response involving ritual death and outside intervention.
  • Harakiri Response — The characters resort to harakiri in response to the triangle.
  • American Intervention — The episode rejects or cannot stomach American intervention.
• Italian Misreadings — Italian-style subtitles turn passion and anger into comic mistranslation.
  • Admire Your Bust — The Lover's feelings are rendered through the comic subtitle about admiring the Wife's bust.
  • Neapolitan Anger — The Husband's anger appears in the line about marrying a Neapolitan lady.
• Swedish Gloom — The Swedish episode uses silence, snow, and failed dramatic remedies to portray persistent infidelity.
  • Handless Clock — A ticking clock without hands cannot tell the characters the time.
  • Persistent Infidelity — The affairs continue after poison and wild strawberries are consumed.
• French Surprise — The French New Wave parody uses handheld camerawork, casual dialogue, and a surprise ending.
  • Cigarette Search — The Lover searches for a cigarette during the French-styled episode.
  • Surprise Ending — The repeated question “ça va?” leads into the film's stated surprise ending.

Directed by

Christopher Miles

Key Cast

• Bill Meilen — The Husband
• Sarah Miles — The Wife
• Nicol Williamson — The Lover