Wednesday, November 17, 2021
Snowpiercer
- Commentary: I just received this movie today so I haven't yet watched it, but I'll be doing that tonight. At any rate, I had to mention, there are no less than three reviews written about this movie at RogerEbert.com. No, Ebert didn't come back from the dead to review the movie, but two regular reviewers and one non-regular reviewer weighed in on the movie. The first review that came up at the site is linked to the title of this post. Here's the second and here's the third. The second, I think, is going to be the most informative, although I'll let you know once I've read it and watched the movie (I plan to do the movie watching first).
Frankly, I have a troubled relationship with apocalyptic (and post-apocalyptic, I mean, let's face it, if a movie is about an apocalypse, is stands to reason it's also about the post apocalyptic period, although, I can think of one exception to that rule: The Last Wave; and, come to think of it, Dr. Strangelove doesn't cover the post apocalyptic period, either) movies. There are a few that I love and I think I own most of those. The ones I love are subtle and surprising, like The Last Wave and The Rapture. I'm not sure, from what I've read so far about this movie (a few blurbs, including the blurb on the cover of my copy), that this will be one of my favorites. It seems like it's not about apocalypsis, but uses an apocalypse as an excuse for a fight between the haves and the have nots. Thinking about apocalyptic events put me into an apocalyptic mindset and I ordered two other apocalyptic movies along with this one, both of which I'd seen years ago: Threads and On the Beach, both of which qualify for the "subtle and surprising" category. I've rewatched Threads and will be producing a write-up soon. I have yet to rewatch On the Beach. And, of course, I haven't watched this movie yet, although I notice in the Wikipedia article about it, linked in the next paragraph, that it got unusually good reviews, not all around, there were some critics who found the film less than good, but mostly the reviews were well above average.
Can't wait to see how it hits me. Stay tuned.
Update 5/18/2022 I watched this movie a couple or three months ago. The end is excellent, true Bong Joon-ho: One assumed lone survivor, leaving the wrecked train into a snow covered world with a polar bear snuffling around. I don't know why, but this scene captured my imagination. The rest of the film? Eh. A lot of have/have-not fighting. Tilda Swinton going crazy with her role and having what looks to be a fun time. Chris Evans as a totally forgettable protagonist. Lots of interesting bit parts by interesting bit players.
This movie was a hit with the critics, but, I don't know, I think there are lots more credible and interesting apocalyptic films out there. Maybe I'm not in touch with the apocalyptic zeitgeist. And, the one question I had that was never concretely answered, why a train? I mean, why an apocalyptic train?
Then, there's Ed Harris playing another version of Christof and John Hurt playing another version of, hmmm, oh, I don't know, name your poison. [This comment, by the way, is not to belittle his work. John Hurt was an astonishing actor with a wiiiide range. It is actors of his calibre that make me ever grateful I exist in a time when performances are recorded and readily available. He did, however, get a little typecast in his later years.]
But, I'll keep it, especially since it is an example of apocalyptic movie-thought in the second decade of the 21st century, a century which appears to finally promise the long awaited "apocalypse". I mean, if humanity doesn't deliver it, the environment will.
Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Actor Role Chris Evans Curtis Everett Song Kang-ho Namgoong Minsoo Ed Harris Wilford John Hurt Gillam Tilda Swinton Minister Mason Jamie Bell Edgar Octavia Spencer Tanya Ewen Bremner Andrew Go Ah-sung Yona Alison Pill Teacher Vlad Ivanov Franco the Elder Luke Pasqualino Grey
Here's a link to the Wikipedia write-up of the film.
Release Date: 2013
Directed by Bong Joon-ho.
Labels: anti-fascist, apocalyptic, bong-joon-ho, john-hurt
