SNOWPIERCER REVIEW
MASTERFULLY METAPHORICAL
Chris Evans (right), Octavia Spencer (second from right) and John Hurt (centre) in Snowpiercer (Moho)
Tom Ball
Bong Joon Ho stole the show at the 92nd Academy Award Ceremony with the success of his class-themed comedy thriller; Parasite (2019). Famously being the first Foreign Language film to win the Academy’s most prestigious award. However, the South Korean is also responsible for a slightly less famous gem in Snowpiercer (2013). Much like the former it is a class themes Thriller with somewhat similar themes of rebellion against inequality and the wealthy. Snowpiercer takes place in 2031. For 17 years what is left of humanity has been stuck on a train that hurtles at high speed around the earth to protect the last few from an Ice Age that makes the planet inhabitable to most living species. At the end of the train are what could be seen as the the impoverished class. The very bottom of the wealth chart and are only fed through manufactured ‘protein blocks’ by the authoritarian regime lead by the enigmatic ‘Mr. Wilford’ at the front of the train. Enigma is an appropriate term as the name becomes more of a symbol of what the from of the train stands for. An unreachable bracket of society that very much reflects today’s top 1%. This impoverished class is where our protagonist Curtis (Chris Evans) resides. He remains next in line as the unofficial leader of working class. From the outset it is clear that him, his closest friend Edgar and current ‘man of the people’ Gilliam are conspiring to lead a revolt up the train. The aim is to create a social democracy where all are treated equal.
The most striking element of the film at face value is of course the concept. Bong takes the study of inequality quite literally. The metaphorical commentary is quite clear from outset. The train directly represents the distribution of wealth. The train is under the power and jurisdiction of a small amount of people who occupy larger and disproportionate section of the new age society. In turn, Bong has set out an easy template for himself when it comes to social themes. The film very much seems to be focused on that. We learn very little about our protagonist. We don’t learn much about his past. It can only be assumed that a large part of his life has been spent on this train. As the films exists the best part of two decades after the climate disaster, much of the train population have only know this form of society. This limits the film from creating a context that understand how we lead up to this point. Bong most likely intentionally wants the film to exist in the context of the situation rather than the evolution. An acceptance of an uninhabitable earth means the rebellion is an aim for equal opportunity within the situation.
Tilda Swinton in Snowpiercer (Moho)
The film is a unique and intense thrill ride that brings you slowly up this long locomotive. Each carriage offers something completely different and provides set pieces for some of the most well thought and special action sequences you will see. Every part of the society that exists has to be passed through. Nightclubs, aquariums, schools, greenhouses, control rooms. Each one so unique you can never guess whats in the next. The speciality and diversification is only then channeled into the action sequences. The creativity at which the films goes about its head-to-heads is perhaps its shining light. Most specifically a sequence involving a darkly lit carriage, soldiers with night vision and a weaponless rebellion offers up an incredibly display of scene construction. The film is also unforgiving and relentless in slaughtering characters that some audiences may have warmed to. This is well justified through the claustrophobic and adverse nature of the setting we are living. In between this bloodshed we have moments of personality and reflection. Conversations about the forced cannibalism the people at the foot of the train were exposed to. A moment where a group of passengers see outside for most likely the first time in almost two decades. A moment that cannot be fully felt by the audience because of the uniqueness of the situation by treated with an admirable simplicity by Bong.
Snowpiercer provides a quite daring yet exciting spin on a dystopian future. A claustrophobic and quite literally narrow narrative would see many filmmakers disappoint with the space. However, Bong almost perfects it using every element of the concept to his advantage. Action sequences that will leave you on the edge of your seat. All while looking a the incredible set pieces designed in this very much one-off space. Taking place 17 years after the climate disaster means we know little about our characters and their lives in the previous version of earth. Something that could of created a real emotive motivation for our protagonist. However, the film has some other bright spots in Kang-ho Song’s character who is important to the rebellion’s plans despite being a junkie who finds it impossible to stay sober. All of these elements bring together a film that is more Oriental Express or Japanese bullet than overnight freight.