Set in a future where a failed climate-change experiment kills all life on the planet except for a lucky few who boarded the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe, where a class system emerges.
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have become somehow infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.
In a violent, futuristic city where the police have the authority to act as judge, jury and executioner, a cop teams with a trainee to take down a gang that deals the reality-altering drug, SLO-MO.
A monster emerges from Seoul's Han River and focuses its attention on attacking people. One victim's loving family does what it can to rescue her from its clutches.
In 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent into the past, where a hired gun awaits - someone like Joe - who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
Director:
Rian Johnson
Stars:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt,
Bruce Willis,
Emily Blunt
Three high school friends gain superpowers after making an incredible discovery underground. Soon they find their lives spinning out of control and their bond tested as they embrace their darker sides.
Director:
Josh Trank
Stars:
Dane DeHaan,
Alex Russell,
Michael B. Jordan
An extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who is exposed to their biotechnology.
Six months after the rage virus was inflicted on the population of Great Britain, the US Army helps to secure a small area of London for the survivors to repopulate and start again. But not everything goes to plan.
Set in 2031, the entire world is frozen except for those aboard the Snowpiercer. For 17 years, the world's survivors are on a train hurtling around the globe creating their own economy and class system. Led by Curtis, a group of lower-class citizens living in squalor at the back of the train are determined to get to the front of the train and spread the wealth around. Each section of the train holds new surprises for the group who have to battle their way through. A revolution is underway.Written by
Anne Campbell
Emma Levie was a Dutch college student that Joon-ho Bong contacted after watching a short film in Toronto Film Festival. Levie was surprised to see celebrities Chris Evans and Ed Harris when she came to the set. See more »
Goofs
During the scene of the shootout across the gap between Curtis and Franco the Elder, the last shots they take at each other are not only stopped by the intended target's window, they actually become stuck said windows. Curtis' firearm is a submachine gun, using pistol cartridges (probably 9mm), while Franco's is an assault rifle, most likely using NATO 5.56 (or .223 civilian version) rifle cartridges. Therefor, Curtis' shot probably wouldn't even have made it across the gap to hit Franco's window (nor during the preceding shots), while Franco's shot would have certainly penetrated Curtis' window and hit him. Pistol cartridges have a very short range and much lower power and velocity in comparison to rifle cartridges. Even further, Franco would have had to be an extremely good shot to gauge the lead needed to accurately target Curtis because of the moving target, and it's doubtful that they had regular target practice sessions on the train, let alone targeting moving objects. See more »
Quotes
[first lines]
Male Reporter:
Good morning. On this day, July 1st, 2014, at this hour, 0600, we are at the first airport in the world...
Female Reporter:
The topic of so much controversy over the past seven years has continued development. Protests from environmental groups and a number of developing countries continue. But in accordance with...
Male Reporter:
It had been claimed that CW7 is the answer to global warning. And we are witnessing it...
Female Reporter:
Leaders argue that global warming can no longer be ignored. Today, 79 countries will begin ...
[...] See more »
If you thought that Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium" was a bleak enough dystopia, brace yourself for Bong Joon-ho's latest film. "Snowpiercer" is what George Orwell would write if he wanted to set "1984" aboard the mad Blaine the Mono from Stephen King's "The Waste Lands". Grim and fatalistic, this picture packs a chilly, compelling punch.
The apocalypse has already happened, with the planet transformed into a frozen block of ice over the next twenty years. The last dregs of mankind sought refuge aboard an ever-moving train (the titular "Snowpiercer") barreling through the icy landscape. The central conflict of "Snowpiercer" deals, of course, with a major class struggle, with most of the refugees hunkering in the ghettoized tail section of the train. The privileged few live in the front cars (I'm sure any similarities to the basic concept of the bus boycotts that started the civil rights movement are intentional), and the ragged masses congregating in the rear are sick of the oppression, and rebellion begins to foment.
The de facto "Everyman" leader is Curtis (Chris Evans), a taciturn fellow who quietly waits for the right time to strike. In the meantime, he acts as a big brother figure to his friend, Edgar (an eager Jamie Bell), while enjoying camaraderie with his fellow "tailies," including sweet-natured mother Tanya (Octavia Spencer, an unexpected but wonderful addition to a dystopian drama) and wizened elder Gilliam (John Hurt, always expected and always welcome in a dystopian drama). Almost immediately, this feels like a futuristic retelling of a drama set on a train bound for Auschwitz.
Indeed, any time the boat is rocked, Gestapo-like representatives from the front come to admonish the poor, huddled masses. They are headed by Mason (a wickedly over-the-top Tilda Swinton, who might very well be the most fiery character in the film), who seems to relish in her duties, which include forcing miscreants to shove their extremities into the frigid wastes while praising the all-powerful Wilford, the "Big Brother" figure of this story who inhabits the very front of the engine. Wilford also seems to order the cherry-picking of certain tailie children, never to return. Eventually, Tanya's son is taken, which sparks the revolution, which encompasses the first half of the film with vicious, "Oldboy"-esque brawls and rapturous moments of rebellion (there's one scene involving a kid running through darkness with a fiery torch; I swear, all it needed was a Vangelis score to complete it!). Once they have gained the upper hand, the rebels enlist the help of an drugged-up Korean engineer (Kang-ho Song) and his daughter to help them in their quest for the front.
"Snowpiercer" is beautifully imaginative with its rather simplistic story, and indeed, Bong Joon- ho gets to assemble a hodgepodge of dystopian bleakness and utopian bliss. Full credit to the set designers for creating distinct "levels" the further up the train our heroes go. And indeed, the Holocaust references really do hit home as the film goes on. One car, for instance, involves children being indoctrinated about how great their glorious leader Wilford is with a Hitler Youth-esque sort of rigmarole. Indeed, the fact that the cheeriest spot in the entire train is the potential source for future atrocity and oppression is made abundantly clear, and the pregnant, propaganda-spewing teacher (a beamingly insane Alison Pill) is ten times more terrifying than the axe-toting guards sent to subdue the revolt.
Chris Evans makes for a wonderfully stoic protagonist, and even though the role could easily fall into bland territory, I feel that his inherent "American"-ness that made him a wonderful choice for a certain Marvel hero hearkens back to the days of Charlton Heston. That said, he gets a heartfelt soliloquy in the end that stands as his finest bit of acting to date. The rest of the ensemble fleshes out their characters quite wonderfully; special mention must be made to Swinton's slimy Goebbels-esque surrogate, Spencer's lived-in dignity that aided her so much in "Fruitvale Station", and the appearance of a certain actor at the very end that puts a face to Big Brother at last.
There is naught a dull moment in "Snowpiercer"; by the halfway mark, so much has been packed in, and yet at the same time, it never feels too much. Harvey Weinstein wanted to cut twenty minutes of footage from the film and add a voice-over. "Snowpiercer", like "Blade Runner" thirty years before, isn't as inaccessible to audiences as one might think. It knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to be, and exactly how to show it. It may lack the spit-shine polish of "Blade Runner", but it makes up for it in sheer grit.
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If you thought that Neill Blomkamp's "Elysium" was a bleak enough dystopia, brace yourself for Bong Joon-ho's latest film. "Snowpiercer" is what George Orwell would write if he wanted to set "1984" aboard the mad Blaine the Mono from Stephen King's "The Waste Lands". Grim and fatalistic, this picture packs a chilly, compelling punch.
The apocalypse has already happened, with the planet transformed into a frozen block of ice over the next twenty years. The last dregs of mankind sought refuge aboard an ever-moving train (the titular "Snowpiercer") barreling through the icy landscape. The central conflict of "Snowpiercer" deals, of course, with a major class struggle, with most of the refugees hunkering in the ghettoized tail section of the train. The privileged few live in the front cars (I'm sure any similarities to the basic concept of the bus boycotts that started the civil rights movement are intentional), and the ragged masses congregating in the rear are sick of the oppression, and rebellion begins to foment.
The de facto "Everyman" leader is Curtis (Chris Evans), a taciturn fellow who quietly waits for the right time to strike. In the meantime, he acts as a big brother figure to his friend, Edgar (an eager Jamie Bell), while enjoying camaraderie with his fellow "tailies," including sweet-natured mother Tanya (Octavia Spencer, an unexpected but wonderful addition to a dystopian drama) and wizened elder Gilliam (John Hurt, always expected and always welcome in a dystopian drama). Almost immediately, this feels like a futuristic retelling of a drama set on a train bound for Auschwitz.
Indeed, any time the boat is rocked, Gestapo-like representatives from the front come to admonish the poor, huddled masses. They are headed by Mason (a wickedly over-the-top Tilda Swinton, who might very well be the most fiery character in the film), who seems to relish in her duties, which include forcing miscreants to shove their extremities into the frigid wastes while praising the all-powerful Wilford, the "Big Brother" figure of this story who inhabits the very front of the engine. Wilford also seems to order the cherry-picking of certain tailie children, never to return. Eventually, Tanya's son is taken, which sparks the revolution, which encompasses the first half of the film with vicious, "Oldboy"-esque brawls and rapturous moments of rebellion (there's one scene involving a kid running through darkness with a fiery torch; I swear, all it needed was a Vangelis score to complete it!). Once they have gained the upper hand, the rebels enlist the help of an drugged-up Korean engineer (Kang-ho Song) and his daughter to help them in their quest for the front.
"Snowpiercer" is beautifully imaginative with its rather simplistic story, and indeed, Bong Joon- ho gets to assemble a hodgepodge of dystopian bleakness and utopian bliss. Full credit to the set designers for creating distinct "levels" the further up the train our heroes go. And indeed, the Holocaust references really do hit home as the film goes on. One car, for instance, involves children being indoctrinated about how great their glorious leader Wilford is with a Hitler Youth-esque sort of rigmarole. Indeed, the fact that the cheeriest spot in the entire train is the potential source for future atrocity and oppression is made abundantly clear, and the pregnant, propaganda-spewing teacher (a beamingly insane Alison Pill) is ten times more terrifying than the axe-toting guards sent to subdue the revolt.
Chris Evans makes for a wonderfully stoic protagonist, and even though the role could easily fall into bland territory, I feel that his inherent "American"-ness that made him a wonderful choice for a certain Marvel hero hearkens back to the days of Charlton Heston. That said, he gets a heartfelt soliloquy in the end that stands as his finest bit of acting to date. The rest of the ensemble fleshes out their characters quite wonderfully; special mention must be made to Swinton's slimy Goebbels-esque surrogate, Spencer's lived-in dignity that aided her so much in "Fruitvale Station", and the appearance of a certain actor at the very end that puts a face to Big Brother at last.
There is naught a dull moment in "Snowpiercer"; by the halfway mark, so much has been packed in, and yet at the same time, it never feels too much. Harvey Weinstein wanted to cut twenty minutes of footage from the film and add a voice-over. "Snowpiercer", like "Blade Runner" thirty years before, isn't as inaccessible to audiences as one might think. It knows exactly what it is, exactly what it wants to be, and exactly how to show it. It may lack the spit-shine polish of "Blade Runner", but it makes up for it in sheer grit.