Snowpiercer

Snowpiercer

This is one of the strangest scfi movie I have seen in a while. This is a South Korean scifi action film based on a French graphic novel, well that explains part of it. It is an apocalyptic film where in an attempt to reduce global warming the clouds are seeded with a chemical that catastrophically causes the earth to freeze killing everything, except the inhabitants on the train, the Snowpiercer. The train is the ark for those lucky and wretched few who survived. There is a strict caste system on the train which frames story.

This movie has its own unique climate. It takes place almost entirely in the train. It is gritty, violent with non-stop action. Tension is constant between the good guys and the bad guys. The film in part feels like Terry Giliam’s movie “Brazil” because of its bizarre nature. It does not have the ultra-violence “Of a Clock Work Orange”, but there are similarities in the brutal gang battles and cult alliances.

It has a rich cast. Chis Evans is the protagonist. He is venturing out of his comfort zone as a super hero. However, with the bread, grime and knitted cap he was hardly recognizable. His acting arch ranged between a scowl and a grimace. This is not a break out role for him but it is a few steps away from tights.

John Hurt is the senior leader of the great unwashed. Hurt delivers one of his stock character roles of a feeble sage. His acting is beyond reproach and his wrinkles continue to multiply. Ed Harris is Wilford, the inventor and keeper of the train. His performance is cold, detached and disturbing.  

Tilda Swinton is totally unrecognizable in the film, which may not be a bad thing. As a hint she has a fierce overbite and she is playing a woman, sort of. Rounding out the American crew is Octavia Spencer, she is one of the great unwashed. She gives a wonderful  Oprah impersonation from “The Color Purple” complete with girth and blown out hair.

The international crew includes Song Kang-Ho and Go Ah-sung. Song is the drug addicted electronic technician who plays a key role in the movie and Go is his mischievous out of touch daughter. The film is directed by Bong Joon-ho who is Korean. He has his own approach to fantasy and scifi. The movie gives a welcomed a new vision to an old story line.