Snowpiercer, The best film of 2013, not released in 2013

The world of Snowpiercer takes place in the not too distant future. In this world, the attempt to reverse global warming has gone terribly, terribly wrong, resulting in a new ice age. The only survivors are left living aboard a train, power by perpetual motion. These survivors exist in a world of strict order and classes. The upper class live at the front of the train and eat good food, their children are educated and are allowed windows amongst other things. The poor on the other hand, live at the back of the train, in squalor. They are all dirty, ragged and subsist on protein squares. Having had enough of this Curtis (Chris Evans), the reluctant leader and his mentor Gilliam (John Hurt) decide to stage an uprising. The movie itself, starts shortly before the uprising begins.

Joon-ho Bong (The Host) directed this film along with Kelly Masterson (Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead) wrote it. The film is tight and lean, quickly summing up the world in a quick prologue and letting the story flourish on its own afterwards. The film allows no room for pointless rumination about society through stilted dialogue. Instead, it is jam packed visually. When the group of revolutionaries moves from the, dank dark cars to the luxurious cars near the front, their awe and bewilderment is not spoiled through pointless evidentiary squawking by the side characters. When a character asks how the gang can solve a problem or an impending crisis, we don’t see them mulling about discussing solutions. Instead we see them gather up a ton of barrels and watch as they make the solution happen. It’s this show don’t tell attitude that really keeps the pace rolling along smoothly, eliminating the need for distracting technobabble. The exposition that does occur, serves to enhance our understanding of the world of Snowpiercer. It strengthens ties of characters and bring about a better understanding of the horror in which the denizens of the live. By the end of the film, all of the questions that are left unanswered, don’t seem all that bothersome. Snowpiercer answers the questions that need answering, anything else, it will let you pondered the mechanics of it all. Much like the original Matrix, this film strives to make you believe that this world is real, not only through narrative though.

The art direction and cinematography carries its share of the load. The camera work is fantastic not because of the shots or use of filters, but rather how it is able to portray such a claustrophobic environment, with spacious shots that give the cast and train room to breathe. During the vicious revolutionary battles, it gives the viewer an all-encompassing view as well as the down in the trenches perspective and thanks to the editors this is down fluidly, without jarring transitions. These battles and fights are shot wonderfully. They know the constraints that bind them and work to make the fights engrossing within the tight space given. You get a sense that all these people have truly learned how to exist within this small space. Pay close attention to what the camera focuses on.

 The art directors too, do a great job. They are expertly conscious of the world. Every single car and room has the perfect feel. Like a tiny enclosed alien world, dressed up to look like home. But, there is always something nagging at you, telling you it’s wrong. This sense of unease helps to bring you to the right empathetic mindset, to sympathize with all who live trapped in their coffin of survival. The outifts chosen for the classes and characters are fantastic. They contrast each other wonderfully and do the talking for the characters. For instance, instead of a character flat out calling the guards and riot police monsters, they are dressed as riot gear, with aprons and butcher knives. Yes it sounds like a hammer over the head, but this simple decisions means we don’t need some holier than though exposition about butchery from some self-righteous character. Furthermore, the levels of extravagance and quaintness of each outfit, tells the viewer what class the character belongs to rather than having it verbally spewed upon the viewer awkwardly.

The people who live in this perpetual train are built upon archetypes and moments. They are simple characters in the sense that, the audience will not need to ‘figure’ them out. As a viewer, you can easily empathize with the character or conversely, despise them if that’s what needs to be done. The only trait shared among all the characters is, survival. Hero, villain, weird egg delivering bald dude, they all have an intrinsic need and desire to survive. The meaning of what survival is too each of them is how they differ. Tilda Swinton’s, Mason, will betray, lie and sacrifice others all to survive. She is like a rat who has found a nice warm coat pocket with a seemingly endless supply of cheese. Swinton, takes this role and barrels through it marvellously. She knows her character innately and is able to portray all the quirks and vileness through gestures and snorts, rather than scowls and dialogue alone. John Hurt’s Gilliam on the other hand, looks not for his own survival, but rather for that of his adopted children. His time has come and gone, no he seeks to teach the future, to ensure their survival. Hurt does an admirable job, but it is nothing special. His mentor role is not ground-breaking or rule bending. Instead he plays the mentor we have been watching for generations, and with his experience he pulls it of charmingly well. 

Chris Evans portrayal of Curtis, a man with a dark past who seeks life by attaining freedom for him and his, is really the only role that could have used a little more beefing up. Whereas Keanu Reeves might struggle with the extra layer of characterization and emotion required for the role, Evans seems to be confined within his role, up until the very end. Evans’ emotional outbursts can seem awkward and misplaced even when they are in the appropriate moment. If this sounds odd, it’s because it is very odd. It seems to be a problem with the script or the direction of the scene, because Evans is seemingly on the cusp of becoming Hollywood’s new intelligent action hero. Aside from those few odd scenes, he seamlessly transitions from being a bold yet reluctant hero, to a damaged man hoping to atone for his sins. One scene in particular near the end, breaks down the Adonis persona that he has built up over a decade, too give the viewer a wonderful moment where Evans steals all your feels. Lastly, Ièd like to speak of Kang-ho Song. Playing the role, of damaged security expert, addicted to drugs is an all too stereotypical role, thankfully, here it is done well. All his lines are in Korean, so you must pay attention to what he says, but at the same time you need to pay attention to how he says it and where his eyes linger. His mannerisms are just as important as his words. His character is how Bong, demands that we as a viewer pay attention to the film. This is not a film for the lazy or those who expect a simple Luc Besson-esque action thriller and Song’s character and the portrayal will show you why. The rest of the side characters are excellent as well. Allison Pill, Luke Pasquilino, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, Ed Harris and so forth inhabit their characters wonderfully. They do not try to steal the show, instead they work as finely sharpened instruments, to keep a well-oiled machine, not only running, but running above and beyond our expectations.

As the title blatantly says, this is the best film of last year, not released last year. It has everything you could want from a film; ingenious action scenes, basic characters structures an underlying complexity that grows as the film progresses and its philosophical intelligence is one that rewards the viewer rather than punishes them. Snowpiercer is a film that demands your attention to be fully appreciated. To watch this film half-heartedly is to only see a tenth of the glory that lives within its frames. The film, dangles all your feels over the precipice, but then embraces them to give you that warm feeling of hope. But by the end of the film, you will know that the hope this film has left with you, came at a dire cost. And when you do come to that point, you will be sitting on the edge of your seat with anxious glee.