Seven years ago Bong Joon-ho first tried his hand at an English-language production. The film in question? “Snowpiercer”. An extraordinary movie based on a French graphic novel, written for the screen by Bong and Kelly Masterson. With an estimated budget of 40 million US dollars, “Snowpiercer” is still the most expensive Korean production ever made. This gamble surely paid off, as the movie was undoubtedly a critical and financial success. Bong Joon-ho's recent mainstream success has given the title a second life, recently getting a new release on Blu-ray, which makes it a perfect time to look back at this unique project.
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After a failed global-warming experiment kills off most of earth's population and encases the planet in snow and ice, one train, the Snowpiercer, carries the last survivors. These survivors should be the lucky few, yet a rigid and unfair class-system led by one Minister Wilford (Ed Harris) prevents that from ever being a possibility. The story follows Everett (Chris Evans), who resides in the lowest class, the tail-end of the train, and his fellow lowly citizens who share a similar fate. Where earlier attempts failed, they believe they can take over the train and put in place a just system. To do that, they need to fight their way through the train, the engine of the train being in the very front.
“We control the engine, we control the world”.
“Snowpiercer” is in many ways unique. The French comic the production is based upon has an outlandish concept, which Bong decided makes for a great outlandish movie. The whole concept of the train is flawed, but that's what makes the story so inherently interesting. It raises question after question. How? Who? Why? What? Fortunately, the film does actually give answers to most of the questions you may have, and those answers are quite rewarding. It does a tremendous job at worldbuilding overall, making the world seem interesting and real. The concept is so bizarre, yet the themes are largely dark, serious, and upsetting in tone. The audience is meant to feel depressed, disgusted, and upset at the way these people are living, and the unfair circumstances that make it so. It is successful in doing so, and the whole experience feels bleak, ultimately making it very easy to relate to the characters. However, the film does provide the audience with some moment of lightheartedness, almost making it a black comedy of sorts on occasion. The comedy elements hit surprisingly well and are used scarcely enough not to distract from how the audience is supposed to feel throughout the movie, instead giving a minute to breathe during the downcast premise.
The themes throughout are quite on the nose, but that doesn't make them any less impactful. Its stance on class-systems is evident, and although scarcely used, the whole concept is a clear warning against global warming. The script is well-crafted and multi-layered, making it incredibly easy to find deeper meaning within the production. For instance, its usage of religion and propaganda, often in tandem with each other, could easily be made into a talking point regarding North Korea, religion, or propaganda.
From an acting standpoint, the project is severely enhanced by its diverse and interesting cast. Chris Evans' performance as the tough rebellion leader Curtis Everett is consistently solid throughout, but truly stands out near the conclusion of the film. Song Kang-ho in turn was well utilized, providing a dose of light-heartedness and comedy, and turning up for the emotional scenes when required. His portrayal of Namgoong Min-su, the drug-addicted security expert, is extremely compelling and is one of the standouts. The production's supporting cast elevates “Snowpiercer” even further, with the standouts being Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, and Octavia Spencer. Swinton plays the extravagant Minister Mason and brings a real character to the screen. Her energy, commitment for the part, and clear passion to do something different works out perfectly, making her character unique in its own right. Octavia Spencer, as the mother who stands her own to find her child, brings her A-game as well, and her performance is extremely powerful. Last of the stand-out cast is Jamie Bell, who brings a necessary levity and playfulness to the film and excels as Everett's right-hand man.
Throughout the movie, there's a lot to be said about the cinematography. Lead by Hong Kyung-pyo, most recently known for “Parasite“, “Burning” and “The Wailing“, the cinematography in “Snowpiercer” is not limited by its lack of location and breathability. Instead, Hong makes use of the train's setting, creating an, at times ,suffocating feeling and darkness in the earlier carts, and one of hope and hypocrisy in the later ones. Most memorable are the steady shots through the length of the train, seeing the volatile Snowpiercer shake and turn, as the camera stays in place, creating some beautiful imagery. Adding to the feel of the movie, its set design is done superbly. Every cart feels different from the last, every shot feels lively, interesting, and unique. It adds to the experience tremendously, never lingering on something similar for too long. It helps that the train was, to some extent, actually built, and actually moved around in its tracks, adding to the considered realism of the production.
The editing by Steve M. Choe and Kim Chang-ju is solid throughout, and made the movie seem quick-paced and its runtime of 127 minutes fly by. One gripe with the editing uncovers itself in the fighting scenes, however. Too many cuts makes the scenes feel untraceable, never quite clear who was winning, what was happening, or lacking a real sense of direction. This is especially true for the earlier ones but gets significantly better when fewer people are involved. This is probably the weakest part of the movie. It does correct a great deal by making some of the deaths highly stylized, making the fights much more amusing to watch. Apart from that, Marco Beltrami, known for providing the scores for films like “Logan”, delivers a great score. It stands out enough to feel haunting and strong, without distracting from the narrative, giving the production that extra push to greatness.
Bong Joon-ho's recent international mainstream success might have given the film a new life, a second chance, for fans around the world to discover and enjoy its imaginative story. “Snowpiercer”, however, is worthy of its own praise. It is exceptional, its themes strong, its drama exciting, its performances stellar. A movie that has earned its praise all by itself, more than worthy of its second life.
