Snowpiercer Review

Five years ago, roughly the same time Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was poorly received by just about everyone yet made a ton of money, a bit of sci-fi counterprogramming occurred with the release of Duncan Jones’ Moon.  While Moon never came close to transcending its cult status into mainstream success, its reputation has gone on as one of the better cult films of the late 00s.  Now we have an even worse received Transformers filling multiplexes and another small sci-fi film, Bong Joon-Ho’s Snowpiercer, based on the French comic book Le Transperceneige.  Cursed from a major release because Bong wouldn’t agree to the Weinsteins’ cut (I know, the Weinsteins cutting a film from an Asian filmmaker, huge shocker), Snowpiercer has been relegated to limited and VOD releases in the states.  Although it is a shame this great film isn’t available to a wider audience, that treatment may make Snowpiercer the next great cult classic.

Set in 2031, we find humanity has been decimated by a new ice age, the product of an experimental attempt to stop global warming.  It has been 17 years since and the remaining life on earth is stuck on the eponymous train, speeding around the globe in perpetuity.  The society that has emerged in that time is decidedly split between the direst of poor and the rich, the former rebelling against the latter often.  This time they’re lead by Curtis (Chris Evans), who has spent half of his life on the train and wants to speak to the mysterious leader Wilford.  They manage to break out train door builder Namgoong (Song Kang-ho), who helps them open the doors to get them to the front, where the rich and powerful hold court.  Like many dystopias, the idea of how man can survive this ordeal runs throughout, and this film posits the idea that maybe it shouldn’t.  A little less than 24 hours since I’ve seen it and I’m still wrestling with these ideas, and no doubt they’ll be on my mind when I see it again.

The film is quite amazing to look at (I have to imagine it looks even better on the big screen).  Aside from a few brief glimpses outside, cinematographer Hong Kyung-pyo places his camera only from within the cars, creating a great claustrophobic effect of only being able to work on sets the width of a train car.  As the rebels make their way further up the train, we are treated to a variety of train cars that serve a variety of different uses from non-stop raves to a school that is a thinly veiled indoctrination center.  Although some of the mythology may be a little fuzzy, the art direction brings this world to life.

Snowpiercer’s cast is filled with some impressive talent: John Hurt co-stars as Gilliam, the amputee mentor of Curtis, Bong Joon-ho mainstay Song offers some color as the eccentric architect and addict Namgoong and the always reliable Tilda Swinton delivers as the jittery mouthpiece Mason.  However, it is star Evans that stands out.  He has to hide the Captain America muscle, but the world weariness is there.  There’s no flashy quirk here.  A monologue towards the end, where he outlines just how bad it can be back there, is some of the best work of his career.  I can only hope he changes his mind about retiring from acting when he finishes his work at Marvel.

For his first English language film, Bong Joon-ho has created a relentlessly grim version of the future.  Despite that, the film never drags and has enough thrills that it could be a decent sized hit if it got a release similar to other summer blockbusters—it’s right at home with other dark summer films like Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Godzilla.  It’s done very well in Bong’s native South Korea, becoming the 10^th highest grossing film there domestically of all time.  Unfortunately, the Weinstein Co. isn’t giving it the push it deserves in the US.  However, maybe that’s OK.  Thinking about this predicament, it’s hard not to think about another dystopian film that flopped at the box office and dealt with similar studio meddling, Brazil (there’s even a character named Gilliam).  Like any great cult film, no matter how much interference gets in the way, it will find its audience.

Grade: A-