Before this bandwagon leaves the station, I need to get on it, and just tell you how much I too enjoyed Snowpiercer.
But before I start, do yourself a favour. If you haven’t seen Snowpiercer and do intend to at some point in time, don’t read this. Please. I don’t spill any major spoilers, but even then. Just do yourself a favour and stay dark on this one.
I feel a bit removed from the “real world” at times being out here in Bahrain. So I’m not entirely clued in as to why Snowpiercer got such a tiny release and why it’s appeared on VOD so quickly. But I for one am happy that happened, as it means I’ve been able to watch it so much sooner than otherwise.
Snowpiercer is far from a perfect film. Every set piece gives rise to a new question. And almost every new question will remain unanswered for the duration of the film. But that didn’t matter. For me, anyway.
Snowpiercer is an immersive, sci-fi flick portraying an utterly bleak and dystopian future where humanity has done nothing to help itself and is on the brink. The class system is stronger than ever. Those without are truly without anything. Even hope at times. None of it is all that realistic to be honest. But the film never goes out of its way to say that it’s trying to be anything remotely possible.
Snowpiercer has a great look and feel. Yes, I said feel. You can feel just how grimy and dirty the lower class heroes’ world is. And as they move through the class system, how the world gets more glossy and clean.
The cast all do their job brilliantly. Chris Evans plays a fantastic hero. Always has. I had some issues with Tilda Swinton’s character. I was undecided on whether she was meant to be comic relief or just as ridiculous as she was. Together all the characters play their part in moving the story forward. All have their own specific place and purpose.
While the ending is open, and produces more questions, it’s satisfying. I was happy with that ending.
Perhaps it was the fact that I only had very, very vague memories of seeing a trailer at one point in time for Snowpiercer and as a consequence knew very little of the film, was why I enjoyed it so much. At no point while watching the film did I have an inkling of where the story would take me. I didn’t recognise or recall any scenes from trailers. I was totally absorbed into this fantastic, new bit of film I was watching. I wish I could see more films in this frame of mind. Maybe I’d think differently of them if I did?
Jaina, I also knew virtually nothing about Snowpiercer and hadn’t even seen the trailer. I’d read the basic premise and knew it was going strong reviews, but that was about it. I think that helped a lot in me loving it. I think the reason for the small release was a conflict between the director and Harvey Weinstein, who wanted to cut 20 minutes. They did do something brilliant with the VOD. They didn’t announce the date until right before it came out, so people still went to the theaters. I caught it on Amazon, and it was great to see such a recent film that way.
Nice review, Jaina. I went into this one blind myself, and came out pretty impressed. Definitely something different from the norm here, really unique in its feel, and while, as you stated, not EVERYTHING quite works, enough of it does to make it stick in my head well afterward. Good stuff! 🙂
Very few films have that sticking ability with me these days. Which is a little sad actually!
True, that actually is a pretty sad revelation I’m come to find myself as of late as well. Dunno if that’s just because I see more movies nowadays than I did way back when, or if the movies releasing these days just in general really are that forgettable, but either way, it is a bit of a shame nonetheless.
Yeah, I tend to wonder if it’s just the sheer volume and exposure to films we get these days that makes us feel this way. Or just we’re generally exposed, via marketing, to so many degrees of the film marketing process. When we finally get to it, something is already lost on us.
I’m glad you finally saw this and loved it too Jaina! I too didn’t see many of the clips of this beforehand so everything felt fresher to me. It’ll likely end up on my top 10 of the year I think. Evans made a compelling hero, but yet totally different than his Marvel character.