"The distressing creep of stasis has permeated large scale, genre filmmaking. A level of gutless, 'corporate-think' that requires slim works to be carved up and stretched out into endless, climax-delaying installments. A fear of finality that will negate the sacrifice of a beloved character with a post-credit cookie or a TV show spin-off. No such fear exists in Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer which begins with the last remnants of humanity clinging to a joyless existence and only becomes more apocalyptic as it goes.
"Liberated from expectations of mainstream success (the film was famously held hostage by its distributor which feared that it wouldn’t be 'understood by audiences in Iowa and Oklahoma') Snowpiercer obliterates the safety of the status quo roughly ever eight minutes. Like the train on which the film is set, the film hurtles itself forward--moving from squalor to opulence and from darkness into light--destroying everything in its wake. Snowpiercer boldly reinvents itself every time it moves from one compartment to the next (the metal doors that frequently give way even recreate the effect of a curtain parting, as though the film were resetting and starting anew), demonstrating genuine pride in each new reveal. Reveling in the craft of its showmanship and the confidence of its storytelling.
"This is a vision unlike anything we’ve seen in a long time, a world that is both fantastic and tactile. Ondrej Nekvasil’s geographically nebulous but ingenious production design surrounds the film’s eclectic cast with sights as wondrous as they are unnerving. Calling attention to their own absurdity as the last vestiges of civilized society and creature comforts. Juxtaposing, in just one of many examples, an industrial sweatshop with the last sushi bar on Earth, conveniently encased within an aquarium. The film lays its 'Swiftian' allegory on a little thick but it recognizes the indignity in having your nose pressed up against the glass, forcing you to acknowledge your 'betters' on the other side (if nothing else, the film ensures we’ll have a handy reference for the first class section of the airplane for years to come).
"But if the film’s aesthetics are the sizzle then the steak (not that I’d trust anything food-related here) is the assurance with which Bong allows Snowpiercer to unfold. Lock picking is a runner throughout the film, which is apt as it often feels like a series of tumblers are clicking into place. The film disguises its devastating twists with seemingly incongruous digressions (a procession of grizzled amputees, a bloody axe battle pausing so its combatants can wish each other 'happy New Year,' a school car full of 10-year-olds breaking into an especially morbid sing-along) that only gain resonance in hindsight. There’s an admirable level of patience to the way the film withholds its grand design, teasing out clues that have been methodically dropped along the way. Bong would seemingly be out of his comfort zone here, corralling an enormous, technically demanding international production. Yet he more than meets the challenge, confirming his status as a master in any genre.
"There will be no sequel to Snowpiercer. The film doesn’t care how many Oscars winners are in its cast or how many blockbusters its leading man has been in. Everyone here is in service of the film’s ruthless economy. This is a film on a collision course with the only possible conclusion that material this bleak and singular could have. It doesn’t step timidly or leave anything reserved in the tank. It doesn’t take the easy way out and it never stands still." ~ Andrew Dignan
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