Wherever there are people, there is society, and there are hierarchies and classes. Snowpiercer is no exception. At the back of the car, there are people in ragged clothes, living like slaves, eating something that looks like rubber (turtle paste?) every day to feed their stomachs. The higher the level of people living in the front of the car, there are schools, aquariums, salons, bars. The ruling class was well-dressed and ate wine and steak.
Why can't the people at the back of the car go to the front? Because of the existence of violent institutions, ideological indoctrination, and more dependence on the ruling class. There's a voice always saying, my friend, just settle for the status quo, everyone is born with a fixed position, and what's the benefit of overthrowing the ruling class? If the train has no power, everyone will die together. There is a lifeless snow country outside. As long as you bow your head and obey, eat and sleep every day, you will not die.
However, there are always people who want to go to the front of the car. . .
The Korean-American blockbuster Snowpiercer (2013) describes a story of class antagonism and revolution, but it is not as simple as slave revolution replacing master. Because after the slave revolution, it was found that only by maintaining more slaves could keep the train (society) running, how to revolutionize was a difficult choice. . Joon-ho Bong's Hollywood debut took the form of a blockbuster, exploring humanity in despair and questioning how social systems exercise justice in times of crisis.
It can be said that class division and confrontation are a hot topic in British and American films in recent years, from Hunger Games, to In time, Elysium, Never Let Me Go, it has been common. Feng Junhao confines class antagonism and revolution to a narrower space, and avoids the tendency to be masked in characterization. The upper class will do whatever it takes to maintain its own domination, but it is also objectively to maintain the normal operation of the train, which is also a "balancing" method that has to be adopted for the operation of society. The lower classes also struggled with violent revolutions and negotiated compromises. Is it self-sacrifice or both? To revolution or not to revolution? A win-win situation is difficult to achieve, but a lose-lose situation can be achieved accidentally.
It's a pity that this pretty good movie theme didn't develop very well. The film seems to carry too many topics, environmental issues, political issues, human nature issues, and class issues, but they are all just scratches. Bong Joon-ho seems to be struggling to reconcile Korean literary films with American action blockbusters, but he is not as adept at navigating the purely Korean theme "Monster of the Han River". A lot of plot connection, the echo of the details can be done better. After watching the movie, the audience will have quite a few questions. While this leaves the film's layout with more open potential (in preparation for a sequel), audiences tend to gravitate towards a more definitive interpretation.
The film gathered Korean and American A-list stars, but still did not break out of the ideological stereotype of white male stars as the main heroes. Under the aura of Captain America, South Korean actor Song Kanghao is purely a foil. He can absolutely show better acting skills, just like his wonderful performance in the new Korean film "The Defender". Tilda Swinton's role is quite eye-catching, and such a weird character image can hardly believe that she played it.
In a word, compared with the cooperation between the two leading Korean brothers (Kim Ji-woon, the Last Stand, Park Chan-wook, Stoker) with Hollywood last year, Bong Joon-ho's exam paper is the most difficult and gives the highest expectations. His answer sheet is fairly satisfactory, the film does not turn into a purebred Hollywood action blockbuster, and retains a considerable amount of thinking. However, the film carries too many things, but it is not concentrated, which is beyond the director's ability to control. The many plot questions left behind also hope to be resolved in the sequel.
View more about Snowpiercer reviews
