DIRECTED BY: Joon-ho Bong
FEATURING: Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton, Kang-Ho Song, John Hurt
PLOT: The film takes place eighteen years after a global extinction event has plunged the world into a new ice age. The only survivors are those who managed to board the Snowpiercer, an enormous self powered train that now continually loops around the Earth on a journey with no end or purpose, in time. There is a class system, working from the front to the back, in place to keep social order. But dissent brews amongst the passengers between the haves in the front and the have-nots by the caboose.
WHY IT WON’T MAKE THE LIST: It’s the weirdness, which goes beyond the central science fiction conceit, that actually makes the film unravel. Following an extremely tight and gripping first hour, it’s as if Bong is unsure where to take his film, so he halfheartedly offers a series of Terry Gilliam-esque impersonations set against increasingly flawed narrative logic. These slips distance and distract the viewer from what could have been an excellent addition to the canon of “great science fiction movies” (a list which in and of itself is a long way away from being 366 movies long).
COMMENTS: Joon-ho Bong’s first English language film generated a lot of buzz in Europe following its popular reception in his home country of South Korea. An ongoing argument between director and the stateside distributor (The Weinstein Company, as usual) over subtitled scenes not being cut means that the film may be sinking without much of a trace in the U.S.A., however, which seems a shame given Bong’s track record. The director of The Host and a segment of Tokyo!, amongst others, Bong is a director with good work to his credit. Snowpiercer, however, doesn’t stand up to critical attention. Without giving anything away, the opening section sets a very tense situation of confined spaces that are a certain class of people’s entire universe. Tired of the same food and the lack of windows, a revolution takes place with the intention of getting to the front of the train, and from here on in the film moves at a breakneck pace which is both tense and exhilarating. Particular kudos must go to Tilda Swinton, who is unrecognizable as a character based on Great Britain’s iconic Prime Minster Margaret Thatcher, and is a scene-stealer during her underused screen time. The film works as a high octane action movie, and it works in this manner for quite a while; but as the lower classes gain access to new carriages the dynamic of the film changes for the worse.
Snowpiercer‘s overall fault is that its enormous plot holes are impossible to forgive against its pretensions of an intelligent subtext and analysis of modern class issues. Entertainment-driven popcorn viewing that makes up the mainstay of the Hollywood summer slate can be forgiven for saying things badly, given that it has so little to say; but Snowpiercer has a brilliant central plot device, yet Bong and his co-writer Kelly Masterton’s increasingly obscure and irrational narrative comes across as a desperate distraction to take the viewers’ minds off the fact that the writer and director have no clue of where their film needs to go.
Ultimately, despite being a lot of fun at certain points, and certainly being considerably more cerebral than a most Hollywood action films can boast to be, Snowpiercer is a noble failure. More irrational than weird, and with an allegorical political subtext that doesn’t bear close scrutiny from either the left or the right, Bong’s English language debut disappoints, despite the praise being heaped upon it.
WHAT THE CRITICS SAY:
Having just seen this, I’m not sure I can agree with James. Although Snowpiercer may not be strange enough for the List, it is the strangest action-blockbuster style movie you’re likely to see for a good while, and that mere fact kept me engaged. Not only is the premise–humanity preserved on an eternal motion train–bizarre, this is also a movie with a weird sense of humor, where people pause mid-revolution to celebrate “New Years” (the train makes one trip around the globe per year) and to eat sushi. I recommend seeing it (if you can) and judging for yourself.
Are there any south korean films on the list yet? As much as I love Bong I don’t think any of his films actually fit on the list, despite their eclectic mix of genres and the extreme moodswings they go through. I haven’t seen Snowpiercer yet though so I may change my mind.
Personally, I could see one of Kim Ki-duk’s more outrageous films having a good chance of appearing on the list.
There is one South Korean film on the List currently: I’m a Cyborg but That’s OK. There are no North Korean films, though!
Swinton is actually supposed to be Ayn Rand. If you look closely you’ll notice that a lot of this movie is opposition to the Randian “philosophy” that’s become all too popular these days.
Specifically, she’s an 80s comic book parody of Ayn Rand, the kind you’d see in Judge Dredd or something. It wasn’t subtle I thought she was perfect.
I loved SNOWPIERCER, and the narrative logic was fine – it was like a live action videogame (specifically, BioShock) and is way more interesting than the comic book it was based on.
I forgot the best bit – I saw it in the theatre, and near the climax a fire alarm went off in the theatre, and I thought it was part of the movie.
“Noble failure” is a great way to put it, but despite the flawed class-commentary, I still enjoyed it!
I really like this movie, but met a fellow during my Portland days who, much to my chagrin, described its central flaw very aptly: “Yeah, I get that it’s cold out–but why are you on a train?”
Just ran across an audacious (to say the least) video essay about how Snowpiercer is a retreat of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQQa15G5jMM
I kinda see it, but only in that both movies are allegorical, so you could make similar arguments between any other two movies making statements about class struggle and politics relating to same.
It’s like saying “Amazing Grace” can be sung to the tune of the theme from “Gilligan’s Island.” Yes, congratulations, you’ve discovered common meter.
Great, I just linked to the wrong video. Here’s the right one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEX52h1TvuA&feature=youtu.be
My father always liked to sing “Amazing Grace” to the tune of “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (and vice versa). I was happy to share this easy switch with my elementary school friends during my Catholic school days.