Beastly Reviews: Snowpiercer
Chris Evans stars in "Snowpiercer," a dark and bloody revolution on rails.
I’m Alexander Cheves, and this is LOVE, BEASTLY—a blog about sex, feelings, and manhood. It’s written mostly for men—gay, straight, bi, MSM, or just curious—but some readers are women, and some don’t fit into categories. Everyone’s welcome here.
This is Beastly Reviews, where I write about films that made me feel something.
These posts are free to read. Subscribe to unlock essays, advice, and more personal work.
This film is grim, so if you're feeling blue, as I have been, I recommend staying away. But if you're up for a dark dystopian flick, they don’t get darker than this one.
Snowpiercer had tongues wagging since its premiere in South Korea last August. This artful, ultraviolent action flick is set in a frozen future Earth, where the remnants of humanity live on a massive train. The tail end of the train is home to the underprivileged living in slums, with limited access to food and clothing, while they work for the wealthy people at the front. If anyone in the rear steps out of line, they get punished, and punishments are predictably grisly.
One brawny, blue-eyed lowlife (Chris Evans) has had enough. He wants to make it to the front, tip the scale, and control the engine. From there, it's vive la révolution as the dashing hero fights all kinds of freaky baddies to seize the means of production.
It's a gory, weird, steampunk hero's tale, literally from one end of the train to the other. Outside, the ghostly remnants of ships and cities pass by, covered in ice.
The film is built on solid elements: an easy-to-grasp destination, obstacle-course challenges, buckets of blood, intense action, a creepy performance from Tilda Swinton, and a ruthless villain waiting at the end (played by Ed Harris). But instead of fitting a crowd-pleasing mould, writer-director Bong Joon-ho shocks us over and over, delivering an exhilarating thrill ride filled with twists and dark revelations.
The film is heavy and never really lets up. Though entertaining, the feeling one leaves the theatre with is not the rush of thrilling heroics—just a sense of sadness. One wonders: How grand a victory can be won? The world outside is frozen to unlivable temperatures. No matter what happens, everyone is still stuck on this fucking train.
Midway through, as your favourite side characters are killed off one by one, you just have to commit. And you will, because the film is entertaining, and at its essence, it's the classic proletariat struggle: the poor demanding justice. The audience trusts, however warily, that a kernel of hope will come at the end—a light at the end of a dark train tunnel. I won’t give away spoilers, but that hope may or may not be rewarded.
The styling is a treat. There's a very intentional, steampunk, socialist aesthetic at play, and everything's tinged with grey. Funny moments are peppered between shock killings. If you enjoy this type of film, you will love this movie.
This not-so-little engine that could was shot in 35 mm, so it's already drawing praise from film enthusiasts. That said, many Americans will have to hunt for a showing—it seems to have struggled to garner a popular release outside of major cities. Only one cinema in my town was showing it, with limited and inconvenient showtimes.
Although it will not be everyone's cup of tea, we need to reward challenging films like this. If Snowpiercer is playing nearby, hop on and enjoy the ride. If you can.
Love, Beastly