Film Addict's June Film Choice

My original intention was to review this particular film in April but I changed my mind because I wanted to review Tron: Legacy instead, plus, I knew this was going to be a hard film so I had to prepare myself for it.  In April, I found this film in my Empire magazine and it intrigued me, plus I like some of the actors.  So the Film Addict's June Film Choice is Snowpiercer.

Snowpiercer is the 2013 science fiction action film from Bong Joon-ho, adapted from a French graphic novel, La Transperceneige by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand, and Jean-Marc Rochette.  This is Bong's first English-language film with a large percentage of it having been shot in English and has a mixture of Korean, American, and English actors.  Some of the stars include Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger, Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World), Jamie Bell (Tintin, Billy Elliot), John Hurt (Hellboy, Doctor Who: Day of the Doctor), Luke Pasqualino (Skins, The Musketeers), Song Kang-ho (The Host, Memories of Murder), and Go Ah-sung (The Host, Elegant Lies) to name a handful of them.

Rating: 10

Recommended To: Not for the faint-hearted

Favourite Characters: Curtis - protector, leader, reluctant hero, Chris Evans; Edgar - weird sort of comic relief, Jamie Bell; Grey - quiet fellow, Luke Pasqualino

Favourite Part: Edgar: What does steak taste like again? I had it once, but I can't remember.
Curtis: If you can't remember then it's better to forget.
Edgar: What does it smell like when it's cooked? It must emanate around the place.

Good Points: Great adaptation of original story; chemistry between the cast; odd moments of the humour

Bad Points: Felt like a long film - very intense two hours

Years before the events that occur in Snowpiercer in 2014, humanity has tried to reverse the effect we have had on the planet's climate with an experiment that causes an ice age to occur, nearly killing all life on Earth.  By 2031, the sole survivors of this catastrophe live on the Snowpiercer, a train that is constantly moving on a track that covers various parts of the globe; there is a class system aboard the Snowpiercer, with those that are considered the elite living in the front of the train, nearer the engine, and the poor inhabiting the tail.  Those that live in the tail survive on protein blocks that brought to them by the guards who in turn take their children occasionally for unknown reasons while being watched by Mason (Tilda Swinton, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Constantine), a member of the front of the train.  Fed up with this way of life, Curtis (Evans) and Edgar (Bell), two of the tail passengers who have been on the train since the first day, as well as their mentor Gilliam (Hurt), begin to plan a rebellion with the rest of the tail section so that they can take control of the train.  Their first step is to get into the prison section using a tube made out of barrels which can jam the doors open when the guards visit the next time; with the assistance of Grey (Pasqualino), who attacks one of the guards who is trying to stop the tail passengers from passing through, they get into the prison section (which are drawers that hold the prisoners) so they can release Namgoong Minsu (Song) to open the rest of the doors on the train who in turn releases his daughter (Go) in the drawer next to him.  With Namgoong's help, the tail inhabitants make their way down the train towards the engine.

This was a phenomenal adaptation of the original graphic novel in my opinion because it kept the original essence and backstory but brought something new to it that improved the franchise for me.  More characters were added and made the entire ensemble the focus while still keeping enough focus on Curtis so that we know this is his story.  While it is more of an adaptation of the first half of the graphic novel, there are a few new elements that have been incorporated so that it stands out from its original and makes the material its own.  I loved the new version of the story, having read the original beforehand, because there were more characters to draw you in and tell you how truly bleak their existence is which you see first-hand rather than just hearing about it from the protagonist who has already escaped the tail.

The chemistry between the main cast made the film for me as it drew me in more because it adds to the illusion that they have been stuck on this train for a long period of time already because of the bonds between them and how they behave around one another.  While I could talk all of those that follow Curtis and their relationships, which are still integral to the film and the journey Curtis goes through, I have decided to focus on two relationships I thought were the most important; Curtis's relationships with Edgar and Gilliam as there is a similar relationship between the two pairs where the younger looks up to the elder while the elder tries to guide them the best they can while hiding some deep, dark secret as if they are protecting their younger counterpart from the truth that could protect their relationship.  This would protective manner also ensures that the trust maintained between their respective relationships, and those around them, which they each need in order to carry out the plan to take control of the train.  I found it interesting in the end that the dynamic was so similar in the relationships shared with two of his friends, as if history was repeating its self inadvertently and made me wonder if this kind of thing happened in reality.

Strangely enough, there were these random moments of humour interlaced early on in this dark film where the world is coming to an end and humanity are scarcely surviving because we tried to correct our mistake and made it worse.  Edgar specifically provided some humorous moments in the beginning, almost like he was trying to lift the spirits of the people who live in the tail as he messes around and acts like a child even though he is an adult.  I loved these moments because they relieved the tense atmosphere when it was getting heavy and allowed me to settle into the film before it got down to the even darker elements that came in a bit later.

While it may be predictable as a choice for my favourite character, I don't care.  I love Curtis for multiple reasons.  Granted, I was predisposed to love him because it was Chris Evans portraying him and I've loved pretty much everything I've seen him in; he really knows how to play on someone's emotions because at moments, I found his performance really heart-wrenching and I am not one who easily cries (unless it's an animated film) but I was sobbing near the end so, bravo, Mr. Evans, you broke my icy shell.  I found it refreshing to see Evans in a darker role in comparison to his Captain America persona because it shows that he is more than a character and is in fact a talented actor.  What I loved about Curtis was that he was a reluctant leaders and hero; he protects those he cares about fiercely yet knows that he needs to protect the greater good too.  He's not perfect and he knows it, arguing profusely that he is not the leader of this ragtag band of tail passengers, which makes him even more intriguing because I wanted to learn more about him and why he believes he's not a hero or a leader even though his actions contradict this belief constantly.

I adored Edgar; he was this ray of sunshine (with a foul mouth) amongst his fellow disheartened passengers which seems odd for such a bleak film but I enjoyed it.  I found it to be a great quality as he was a good sidekick to Curtis and it made him loveable which in turn, meant Edgar caught part of my heart.  The fact that Jamie Bell portrayed him made him a great character too for me because I always enjoy his work like I have Evans's and loved his particular part in this film, making it into my top 3 or even top 2 performances from Jamie Bell.

Though a bit odd, I found the silent character Grey to be quite endearing as he protect his fellow passengers even though he was quite savage in his methods.  Maybe it was because he was portrayed by Luke Pasqualino and just like Evans and Bell, I have liked his previous work but I find his character to be caring and protective as well as loyal which made him stand out from Curtis's other followers.

This was a very intense film which grew in its intensity over the course of the film as the story became darker and death seemed to strike Curtis's followers.  The intensity of this film made it feel a lot longer than (just over) two hours and was a little overwhelming because of this.  I found it weird because it was shorter than a lot of other films I watch but that may be because there's a lot going on in those films while everything was very focussed in this film; that was one of the only things that was a bad point for me in a way, though not majorly as I would happily watch this again and still be enthralled.

Edgar: What does steak taste like again? I had it once, but I can't remember.
Curtis: If you can't remember then it's better to forget.
Edgar: What does it smell like when it's cooked? It must emanate around the place.

I loved the way Curtis and Edgar bounced off one another with little conversations like this, as if Edgar is trying to distract Curtis long enough so he can feel like a normal human being rather than a prisoner on this train; this particular line reflected their personalities well as Curtis is the focussed one while Edgar is the dreamer, longing to taste food that is non-existent in the tail of the train but can be found further down the train.  These parts pulled me in because of the light humour and the way the cast interacted with another which are always a good thing in a film.

Overall, this was a phenomenal film but a very intense story so it did feel like it dragged a little at one point but I could overlook that because the story was a great adaptation of the original, building on the initial concept and adding new characters that bring other elements in and expand your view on the way these people live.  The eclectic cast were a great ensemble as they all worked well together, bouncing off each other as if they've lived together for years.  Chris Evans was outstanding in my completely biased opinion because he played on my emotions and made me cry in a particularly solemn scene.  I highly recommend this film because it is powerful but it is not for the faint hearted as it is awful what these people go through; I fully intend to watch this film over and over again when I get the time because I thoroughly enjoyed it.

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