Snowpiercer
South Korean filmmakers have been producing some great,
memorable films for a long time now but only recently has Hollywood
invited them to create English-language debuts.
Unfortunately, the track record of the first releases has been
disappointing. Kim Jee-woon (I Saw the
Devil) made The Last Stand, a goofy (in a good way), but underwhelming
Schwarzenegger comeback film. Park
Chan-wook (Oldboy) made Stoker, which was certainly a unique and
interesting film, but it was pretty much abandoned by the studio. Now, and this is the most unfortunate of the
three, Bong Joon-ho (The Host) has made Snowpiercer, an ambitious
post-apocalyptic film that is equal parts entertaining and
thought-provoking. What’s unfortunate
about this is that it spent months in limbo as The Weinstein Company considered
editing it so Americans could “understand” it (thankfully, the final release is
the director’s version) and, despite the film making over $80 million overseas,
the widest release the film had in America was around 350 theaters a few weeks
ago. In other words, this film wasn’t
given a chance to become traditionally successful in America
because it was assumed mass audiences wouldn’t get it, like it, etc. Here’s where the good news comes in,
however. Rather than expand to theaters
nationwide, the film was released on demand (for roughly the same price as a
theater ticket). While I would much
rather have seen this on the big screen, I was still very appreciative to get a
chance to watch it at all. More importantly,
for those of you who don’t venture to the theater very often, you have a chance
to check out a unique sci-fi film in your living room. Now for the actual review of Snowpiercer.
Post-apocalyptic movies are almost too common these days, so
a film in the genre needs to set itself apart.
Snowpiercer easily does that as it’s about the last of humanity on a
frozen Earth surviving on a train (the titular Snowpiercer) that never
stops. Because of this premise (based on
a French graphic novel), some people might be turned away. Obviously some suspension of disbelief is
required (as it is for nearly all movies, I might add). The logistics of how it all works could
easily distract the viewer from the film, but I was impressed with the world
Bong Joon-ho created. But, if the
message boards at IMDb.com are any indicator, some people can’t get past
nitpicking the premise. My advice is to
just go with it.
The reason that the film takes place on a train is to allow
for an easy metaphor for humanity. Even
with the world essentially dead, there are still social classes on the train:
poor in the back, rich in the front. But
the film is more than just a “rich people are evil” metaphor. We’ve seen that scenario played out in film
and reality enough anyway. Snowpiercer made me think more about humanity in general.
It made me think about how some of us go about our daily grind and try
not to think about the less fortunate.
Or decide that people are simply meant to inhabit certain stations of
the social ladder. What stuck out to me
more than anything is how the film demonstrates on a small scale how humanity
works things out (usually through awful actions) by being only slightly nudged
into action. The conspiracy theorist in
me sometimes likes to imagine that there is a small, powerful group of people
out there controlling the world and causing wars and atrocity behind the
scenes. That part of me got into this
film as it showed that happening on the smaller scale of a train.
The action of Snowpiercer is that of a revolution
spearheaded by Curtis (Chris Evans) who has spent equal parts of life on Earth
and the train (seventeen years each).
The film opens on the back section at its worst. People are crammed into the back cars, fed
gelatinous “protein bars,” and subjugated by the front section. Their children are sometimes taken away never
to be seen again without explanation.
Severe punishments are doled out for any rebellious action (there is a
disturbing limb removal early on). Life
is awful for everyone, and they’ve reached their breaking point. Not to spoil anything, but a revolution does
occur fairly early in the film, and Snowpiercer becomes equals parts action
film and social commentary.
The action and
overall look of the film affected me the most.
The world Bong Joon-ho created for this train is amazing. The cobbled together living quarters of the
back of the train contrast greatly with the front cars, which is probably the
easiest feat of the film (just look at The Hunger Games, Elysium, etc. for
more examples of extreme class differences).
More impressively, this world feels real and lived in. There is a history of failed revolutions and
trying times that is only referenced but feels present in each character. Since the film takes place on a train, it
allows for some great framing in scenes featuring the powerful speaking to the
downtrodden. You get to see all of the
miserable faces while someone in power, like Tilda Swinton’s Mason, speaks to
them about accepting their place in life…and the train. All of this is and the excellent, brutal
action is set to diverse music by Marco Beltrami. It all just comes together in a unique way
for this film, and all involved deserve credit, like the creators of the source
material and co-screenwriter Kelly Masterson.
Snowpiercer is my favorite film of the year (so far) for
three reasons beyond the aforementioned praise I’ve heaped upon it: the
absurdity factor, its similarity to the Silo series by author Hugh Howey and
the Bioshock video game series, and the unpredictability of it all. First, the absurd. As I mentioned before, many people who take
issue with this film immediately attack the premise which they find too
implausible. Defenders of the film
usually state that you should accept the “problems” so the metaphor of society
through train can work, but I defend the absurdity of the premise on the
grounds that the film acknowledges it.
There are many moments that could leave you scratching your head (the
use of a fish before a fight, a ridiculous shootout across train cars,
impromptu holiday celebrations in otherwise serious fights, Tilda Swinton’s
strange mannerisms and dialogue, etc.).
These moments gave the film some much needed levity at times, made the
film unique, and showed just how messed up the human race could get if forced
to survive on a train for years. That,
perhaps, is most important to me: showing that this world is not the old
one. A new, weird, terrible, absurd
world has been created. It’s enough to
make you wonder if you want anybody to survive which is certainly a credit to
the ideas of the film. Secondly, the
Silo and Bioshock series are near and dear to me, and since there is no
film version of either (yet), Snowpiercer appealed to me because I found it
to be a spiritual sibling of those stories of failed utopias, world-building
gone wrong, and revolution. Finally,
this was a film that I didn’t have figured out early on. Not that there aren’t movies that completely
confuse me (hello, Holy Motors), but when it comes to movies about social
injustices or sci-fi struggles, I can usually guess where it’s going to end up
and who’s going to end up there. With
Snowpiercer, the majority of my expectations were upended by the end of the
film. I enjoy unpredictability in a
movie more than anything because after watching so many, it’s easy to end up on
autopilot as you watch, especially if you’re watching at home. But the surprises of this film kept me glued
to it as if I were in the theater. So I
suppose they knew what they were doing when they released it on demand.
My focus on the weirdness and style of the film should not
be seen as a slight against the actors.
Chris Evans is still in action mode here, but he gets plenty of strong
character moments which he handles very well.
Plus, he pulls off the revolutionary look very convincingly. John Hurt is perfectly cast in a mentor
role. Tilda Swinton is likewise a great
choice for the quirky Mason. Kang-ho
Song and Ah-sung Ko are fantastic as a father-daughter duo. I could go on and on; the point is that there
is not a weak point in the diverse cast.
That’s about all there is to say about this film (as if I
haven’t gone on long enough). I
typically don’t like to write this much about a film (I like to keep it about
half this length), but when I see a movie that works on so many levels for me
it gets me excited about writing reviews in general again, especially since
many people might not even be aware of this movie. So if you’re into sci-fi, social struggle
metaphors, cool action, or just weird movies in general, check Snowpiercer out. You don’t even need to move from
your couch to do it, either, so stop reading me gush about it, and watch it for
yourself.
Snowpiercer receives a:
