Snowpiercer Analysis

Snowpiercer (2013)

Directed by: Bong Joon-ho

Starring: Chris Evans, Song Kang-ho
Available on Netflix.

Snowpiercer is a science-fiction action film, the rules of this world are gradually opened layer by layer as we keep going into the film. The immediate opening of the film is about, again the class divide that Bong Joon-ho masterfully explores. We see that the film is based in a train and there is a head section and the tail section and a person from the second in command in the train, played by Tilda Swinton comes and explains that everything has its own place in the world. She comes up with a devastating analogy that a shoe doesn't have any place on anybody's head. The premise of the film is, the tail section revolts against their oppression led by Curtis, played by Chris Evans and they call it 'The Great Curtis Revolution'. The craft in this film is unrecognizable for the most part, other than the lighting which they creatively use to show us the outside world indirectly.

The film essentially is a satire on nationalists like Adolf Hitler and countries like North Korea and maybe even a lot of other countries, where people are constantly brainwashed right from their childhood; as we see how children are taught in the train. That sequence is my favorite in the film, it explains us everything we need to know about the train and they do it with black comedy. The kids sing rhymes about how grateful they are, to be alive because of the train. Usually in sci-fi films the problem I find is, the characters' conviction in the rules of the world, they just talk like actors on Earth who are asked to act in the other world, but in this film every character speaks and behaves like they are living in this world for a long time now. The best part about Bong Joon-ho's later three films, Snowpiercer, Okja and Parasite are that they are so layered that there is interesting physical conflict with high stakes on the upper layer which even kids can enjoy and if you dig deeper he is saying a lot with his films.

Again, Song Kang-ho has such different physicality from his other roles to the extent that I couldn't even recognize that it is him. Some actors fit greatly in some roles and they don't fit well in other roles because of their body language and their certain qualities but Song Kang-ho is taking shape in any role he is playing. I'm eager to watch his other work. I wish there was more of Bong's black comedy in this film, although I could recall laughing when Mason says something and people in all languages around start translating what she is saying by cutting her on what she's about to say next. The climax is heavy on drama where there is a lot happening and the ending as well is interesting, but I didn't find it emotionally satisfying which I find strongly in Bong's other films like The Host, Okja and Parasite.