Snowpiercer Review
The famous French climate fiction graphic novel Le Transperceige received a movie adaptation in the form of Snowpiercer in 2013. Directed and written by Bong Joon-ho, this post-apocalyptic sci-fi film stars Cris Evans, Song Kang-Hom Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, and Ed Harris. The film takes place aboard a train called Snowpiercer, carrying the last remaining humans on Earth. The planet has frozen over due to global warming and climate engineering. Now the train travels all around the frozen planet. The train is divided into carts where the wealthy are placed in the front and the poor in the back. Evans stars as Curtis Everett, the leader of the lower-class tail section passengers, as they rebel against the front of the train. Together alongside his allies, Everett must make his way to the front of the train.
Joo, -ho tells the story of Snowpiercer phenomenally. The viewer receives very little information about the train, and we experience each new piece of information through the characters. This helped build suspense and the idea that anything could be on the other side of the cart doors. In addition to the storytelling, this film had great pacing. There are no scenes that feel dragged on or irrelevant to the film, which is a plus.
Snowpiercer is filled with many great scenes that filmed wonderfully. Each time Curtis enters a new cart the camera takes us through the whole cart with single shots. This makes the viewer feel like they are the one who is looking around. In addition to this, the Cinematographer Hong Kyung-Pyo, utilized this style of filming during action sequences. There are many impressive single shot sequences filled with a lot going on in the background. This type of filming takes a lot of choreography and planning, but Snowpiercer pulls it off tremendously.
The film had a cool concept of traveling through the carts to make their way to the engine, but some of the carts were underwhelming. Some carts were extraordinary and designed beautifully but others were lacking. There were carts that I felt should have been designed much better, like the wealthy carts. Those carts did not scream wealth when the team arrived there. This was quite confusing, especially when they were described as living like kings. The charts may have been underwhelming but this movie does pack in some beautifully designed landscapes. The viewer gets to see outside of the train as it passes important landmarks. It was really interesting to see these cities completely froze over. The graphic designer did a great job designing the cities and mountain landscapes.
Snowpiercer is an overall great film filled with an intriguing story, great pacing, and amazing cinematography. If you are looking for an ice-cold post-apocalyptic classic Snowpiercer is the movie for you. This film is a much watch piece of cinema.
