“You know what I really hate about myself? I know what people taste like.”
The H-Bomb: In the near future, the climate change apocalypse has happened, and the entire Earth is frozen over. What’s left of the human race now survives on a lengthy train that chugs endlessly around the world. Much like societies of the past, the train dwellers have been divided by class. The Haves live towards the front of the train, and get to enjoy the few comforts and luxuries that still exist. The Have-Nots have all been jam-packed into the ass-end of the train, where they are forced to live in squalor.
Two of these Have-Nots, Curtis (Chris Evans) and Edgar (Jamie Bell), are sick and damn tired of this particular living arrangement, so under the guidance of wise, old Gilliam (John Hurt), they decide to lead a rebellion by taking the rest of the back dwellers to the front of the train. That will be far easier said than done, as there is literally an army of jackboots and an unknown number of cars to get through. Every car has an electronically sealed door, and in order to bypass them, they enlist the help of drug addicted engineer Namgoong Minsoo (Kang-ho Song), who will help so long as the rebels keep him supplied with his favorite inhalant.
Each car contains its own nasty surprise for Curtis and Co., none of which I would dare to spoil here, as they fight their way towards the engine car, controlled by the legendary Wilford (Famous Actor cameo), a Mr. Mysterio of sorts who controls the fates of everyone aboard this Bi-Polar Express.
Post-apocalyptic movies seem to be all the rage these days, from The Hunger Games, to the new Planet of the Apes flicks, to Christopher Nolan’s space odyssey, Interstellar, there is no end to the number of films out there speculating what will happen after society as we know it collapses. One such film that seems to have flown in under the radar is Snowpiercer, which is a crying shame, as it is one of the better movies of its ilk to come along in a good, long while.
A huge hit overseas, Snowpiercer was dropped into select theaters earlier this year, because the film’s U.S. distributor (The Weinsteins) had no faith in the picture, wanting to excise much of the off-kilter wonkiness and philosophical jibber-jabber from the two hour long picture, and reduce it down to an eighty-something minute action flick. Thankfully, co-writer/director Joon-ho Bong (The Host, the Korean monster movie, not the Stephenie Meyer abortion) stuck to his guns, said fuck the cuts, and delivered a mean slice of sci-fi awesome that is rowdy, wily, and a shit-ton of fun.
Wait… fun? A fun apocalyptic movie? How the fuck can that be? Well, despite being doomsday dark and deathly grim, the script, adapted from the French graphic novel, Le Transperceneige, has a gleefully wicked sense of humor running through it that keeps this chilly train ride from turning too oppressive. The boarderline perverse humor is way the hell out there and not for all tastes, but those who can laugh at a severed limb or six, will surely be tickled throughout.
Speaking of severed limbs, the epic blade battle that goes down in the dark when the train hits a tunnel, holy shit. Easily one of the most wince inducing action scenes this side of The Raid 2 (a damnable shame I watched it on my laptop, and not on the big screen). But that massive fight is merely one of the many bizarre set pieces that the rebels are forced to endure as they advance from one car to the next. A deranged kindergarten class, an aquatic sushi bar, and a food processing car are but a few of the truly trippy sights. Just wait until our heroes find out what’s in those gelatinous protein bars they’ve been eating… yummy, yummy. I gag just thinking about it.
One would think that a film set entirely on a train wouldn’t offer much in the way of visuals. However, director Bong and cinematographer Kyung-pyo Hong turn every car into a world of its own. Each one a thing of nightmarish beauty, keeping both the audience and the depleting group of rebels on their toes as to what may come next. The production and set designers certainly earned their paychecks on this one, shaping this train’s extensive interior into something Terry Gilliam would envy, and Franz Kafka would feel entirely at home in.
The cast of Snowpiercer is as curious a roster as I’ve ever seen in any movie. Octavia Spencer and Ewen Bremner, who sports a mean case of frost bite, appear in entirely serious roles. Tilda Swinton, meanwhile, is the comic relief, of sorts, as Wilford’s androgynous freak of a spokesperson. Buried under mounds of make-up, false teeth, and a ridiculous wig, she chews the scenery with cackling glee. This is far and away the most animated I’ve ever seen her in any movie. In a normal film, she would be over the top. Here, she’s just another freak in the freak nation. Hurt, missing half his limbs as the rather obviously named Gilliam, is a weighty, calming presence, and is his typical terrific self. No surprise there.
The surprise comes from Evans, who despite playing the “hero,” completely sheds his Captain America image and persona, making Curtis perhaps the darkest, and most tortured character he’s ever played, and making me look at him as an actor in a whole new light. Curtis is a character with quite the troubled past, and Evans conveys that marvelously, particularly during his climatic monologue, in which he describes what he had to do in order to survive in the back of the train. A powerhouse of a lead performance. Makes it all the more fucking frustrating that Snowpiercer didn’t get a better release in the States.
Thankfully, there is Netflix, and everyone who, like myself, missed out on this visionary little gem in its joke of a theatrical run can see it there. And I can’t urge you enough, for Snowpiercer actually is, and I don’t say this lightly, one of the best films of the year. It’s not perfect, as much of the symbolism is so obvious it’s insulting, and its statements about class and the environment are a bit trite. Then there’s the tone, which careens wildly between darkly comical to bleakly tragic, and gives the film an almost schizophrenic feel.
Those relatively minor imperfections aside, Snowpiercer is a wicked science fiction yarn unlike any I have seen. It’s gritty, it’s harsh, it will make you question your faith in humanity. Yet, it’s also highly imaginative, wholly original, and undeniably entertaining.
