What You're In For:
In the height of global warming, our brightest scientists attempted to correct the planet's climate problems; but instead, thrusted the world into a modern ice age. 18 years after these events, we find the earth's remaining survivors fighting for control of an impervious train, the "Snowpiercer". As the years go by, the train's lower class feels burdened by the weight of social structure, and an uprising begins.
Who's Involved:
"Snowpiercer" is a production of CJ Entertainment, Opus Pictures, Moho Film, & Stillking Films. Written by Joon-Ho Bong & Kelly Masterson, Directed by Joon-Ho Bong, and Starring: Chirs Evans, Kang-Ho Song, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ah-Sung Ko, Ewen Bremner, Alison Pill, John Hurt, and Ed Harris
Travis’s Take:
Director Joon-Ho Bong makes his English-language film debut, with this masterfully crafted and heavy-weighted beast of a thriller. “Snowpiercer” breaks out of the confines of low-budget filmmaking, delivering a claustrophobic dystopian tale about the fundamentals of human nature, and the order that keeps us at bay. Buried beneath the layers of snow and science fiction, exists an absorbing character drama that studies our unrelenting will to survive; and with it, our imminent demise. In the wake of a man made ice age, our characters boarded their one-and-only hope, an enormous train, outfitted with a fully sustainable ecosystem; doomed to an eternity of cycling the barren earth, one year at a time. Amongst the backdrop of this hopeless world, is a society of people struggling with the balance of a social structure that plagued their lives long before the world, as we know it, ended. This is an exquisitely ugly film, drenched in a palpable filth; with production design and cinematography that construct a truly tangible setting for our characters to populate. The camera enjoyed a great balance of intimate character moments and stylized action shots; thriving greatly when placed in the heat of physical conflicts. Joon-Ho Bong is never afraid to heighten the intensity, often leaving much of the violence hidden behind objects, or even right off screen. This approach draws the audience into the film’s most brutal sequences, without drenching the screen in unnecessary gore. Selling a film of this nature takes true talent, and we are given exactly that. The brilliant cast is in top form, supporting the material with great intensity and an authentic believability. This credibility can also be attributed to great writing, which allows the characters to deliver exposition comfortably, without overloading the audience. All-in-all, we’re treated to a daring and unique movie, supported by talented filmmaking. This is one train you’ll want to board.
Austin's Take:
This movie feels just as cold as the ice that covers the earth, in the sci-fi action thriller "Snowpiercer." Directed by Bong Joon-ho, a self sustained never ending train filled with the worlds last survivors, speeds around the barren snow covered earth. They are destined to never stop circling the globe in the hopes that humanity will continue on. Gritty, unique, and quite chilling to watch, Snowpiercer will easily get under your skin. It all starts with the passengers and the class system in which they live under. Segregated by each car of the train, the rich inhabit the lavish front and the poor reside in the back. For the folks stuck in the rear life is wretched, dirty, and horrendous. They want nothing more than to get to the front of the train. If you take away the story and the well designed set pieces, the train is quite the analogy between itself and how much of society functions. There are the rich and sadly there are the poor. For the lower class it's about the struggle of being on the bottom, or in the "back," and the constant feeling of unfairness. There is a never ending desire to rise to the top and have an equal share of what the elitists hoard for themselves. This is the central theme of Snowpiercer. That and of course the action. As the built up tensions between the two classes of people boils over, gritty violence ensues sending the blood flying. The stylized action is what makes this film great. Not necessarily the look but in the camera work. With a train serving as the only physical set, Joon-ho and his cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo positioned the camera in a way that helps the viewer understand who's fighting who all within the tight constraints of a train. The way the camera moves through the individual fight scenes puts the gruesome violence in your face, with nowhere for the characters to run to (even in the dark). I'm sure a lot of talk will be given to Tilda Swinton (Minister Mason), and her outrageous over bight, as she brought a level of dark humor to the film. Surprisingly, her performance overshadowed the remaining cast who all seemed a bit generic within their characters. Not to say their onscreen exploits were terrible, but more often than not it felt that the well timed action was there to bail them out. However, with a concept like Snowpiercer, it's hard to do any wrong. Capitalizing on that is Bong Joon-ho, who has made quite a remarkable English debut film. If he continues to progress his style, the world of film looks bright. Brighter than it did for the passengers of Snowpiercer.
Filmmaking Report-Card:
Directing: 8/10
Editing: 6.75/10
Cinematography: 8.5/10
Acting: 7.75/10
Screenplay: 7/10
Over-All Experience: 7.5/10
The Final Say:
Plowing into the summer movie season is the unique and low budget thriller, Snowpiercer. It brought a nice change of pace, but was ultimately a far cry from the film it could have been. While the movie struggled to find an identity, the overall tone and style allowed for an engaging experience. The film jumped headfirst into a grizzly and violent world filled with great concepts and themes, all of which support the films overall tone. Pacing and narrative flaws do hold the film back a bit from achieving greatness, but this is a well crafted sci-fi outing, that allows the audience to truly connect with the material.
Final Score: 7.5/10
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