Snowpiercer: Review & Analysis (A Frigid Viewing Experience)

Written & Edited by: Lee Fenton

Introduction

Snowpiercer left me out in the cold.

I found myself lost in a tundra of characters lacking motivation, nausea inducing shaky-cam, and a host of mediocre performances.

There are elements that I enjoy here, just not enough of them to make up for the lack of cohesion. This movie has potential, indeed, I believe it is chalked full - but in the end - the overall product still needs a certain amount of polish. 

I wanted to like this movie… it’s just that my understanding of critical analysis got in the way.

Damn.

Plot & Theme(s)

The story of Snowpiercer revolves around a train that travels the post-apocalyptic world carrying the remnants of humanity.

If that seems a little far fetched to you - that’s because it is.

Honestly one of the largest obstacles to enjoying this film is attempting to suspend your disbelief. I know there is a general consensus in recent years that ‘nit-picking’ is not conducive to a good viewing experience. That means you aren’t engaging with a film in the way the director intended, however, I still feel if the initial concept is utterly unbelievable — there’s no two ways about it — your viewing experience will suffer.

The themes of Snowpiercer are right on the iced-over surface. It’s a movie about class struggle and the evils of capitalism. The problem is that it hits you over the head with this overt messaging, again and again. Thematically speaking, the film is garbage. 

There’s no nuance. There’s no subtext. 

Just the film screaming “CLASS INEQUALITY” over, and over. 

The eponymous ‘Snowpiercer’ is the name of the circumnavigational train that all the peoples now left on planet earth exist upon. It is separated into compartments that house the occupants and form the amenities of this motorized kingdom. In the front of the train the rich and elite enjoy lives of splendor and decadence, while the back sections of the locomotive are dedicated to housing the essential workers or ‘slave labour’ that’s required to keep things running smoothly. And when I say smoothly, what I mean is, they ensure that the occupants living in the front section continue to reap all the benefits that come with a properly installed fascist dictatorship.

I’m going to stop for a moment and remark on  how much I love the themes of this movie. The messaging is really on-point, even if it is portrayed in a way that allows for little to no interpretation. This story has a solid point to make and it does not shy away from taking aim at the problems present in capitalist society. I imagine the graphic novel it was adapted from did a much better job at examining these themes, and in a way that allows the target audience to draw their own conclusions, rather than being spoon-fed them.

The graphic novel was written by French author Jacques Lob, Benjamin LeGrand and Jean-Marc Rochette and it's titled Le Transperceneige. It's a dystopian sci-fi story that deals with themes of climate change in-action and fascism. I can't stress enough how interested I am in the initial concept for this movie, so much so, that I may purchase the graphic novel. This film just failed in adapting it to the screen.

Cinematography (Visual Motifs/Aesthetic)

I'm going to begin to make some positive points about this film as well, and a lot of them will be attributed to Bong Joon-ho's shooting style and cinematography. The way this film looks is not really one of its weaknesses, indeed, there are many inventive choices when it comes to lighting, colour grading, fight choreography, and so on. The only thing that I truly dislike about the cinematography is the overabundance of shaky cam. This is something that really detracts from the directors style, and seeing as it isn’t present in his later film ‘Parasite’, I believe it was either a studio decision, or Joon-Ho himself was giving it a try.

 Either way — I am exuberant that he later dropped this shooting style. It really “muddy’s” a lot of the group fight scenes; to the point that it becomes nearly impossible to tell the combatants apart.


Bong Joon-ho has the ability to tell a story with lighting which is the mark of an auteur filmmaker. The less skilled members of the profession worry very little about lighting and ambience and how it affects the overall product. If we think back to a little film called ‘Barry Lyndon’ by the late and great Stanley Kubrick, it is obvious that one of the most important things to him when making that magnanimous historical drama — was lighting. He utilized only natural lighting, using the sun and candlelight, rather than any modern day electric lighting. His goal was to be completely period specific and to attempt realism at a level never tried before. It ended up looking magnificent and was one of the myriad reasons why ‘Barry Lydon’ gained so much critical acclaim, and received copious amounts of praise.

In Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho shoots the first quarter of the movie in a way that gives it a washed out look. This may have achieved with a combination of colour grading in post, through the use of desaturation but also involving meticulous choice of wardrobe and set design to adhere to the colour choices. Similar to the film, ‘The Matrix’ in which the Wachoski’s gave a green tint to some parts of the film, and blue tint to others, to signify whether Neo was in the Matrix, or the ‘real world’. Generally if you want it to look convincing, you do both, practical and post-production FX. If you put a bunch of vibrant colours into the wardrobe or set-design, you would have a problem on your hands when you went to colour grade ‘in post’. 

The motif that’s utilized in the ‘Matrix’ is impressive but so is the one Bong Joon-ho uses in ‘Snowpiercer’, once it culminates. The real reason the director made sure to give the film such a despondent look in the first part of the runtime, was so that when the passengers finally fight there way to a point where they can see the world outside - the audience is hit with a transition of lighting that is so dynamic, and abrupt, it really affects you on an emotional level. I can only imagine this would’ve had even greater impact when seen on the big-screen. After spending nearly forty minutes dealing with a film that offers nothing alluring or attractive visually, you are hit with a splendidly lit and almost heavenly-like view of the outside world. The sun beams caress the snowy mountain tops, washing down their sides; in an obvious celebration of life. The world outside is a frozen wasteland, complete with abandoned cities but in comparison to the drab world inside the train - the visuals come across like a paradise of sorts, bringing the viewer into the world of the characters in the film.

It’s a really nice moment that made me sit back and go, ‘Ohhhh, I get what he was going for…!”

Way to go! Bong Joon-ho. Although I don’t believe this is your strongest outing it does show your distinct visual style. 

SO there’s that.

Characters/Acting

I’m going to group character writing, and acting into the same category. It’s probably easiest and will allow me to discuss both in contrast and, or comparison.

I am going to be very brief in this category, in the hopes that I can keep this review under 1500 words. Honestly, I’ve already done a fairly in-depth breakdown of the finer aspects of the filmmaking, and since there aren’t really any standout or groundbreaking performances, I would just be spending more time to describe the negatives of this film. As much as I enjoy criticism, if the points I’m making are fairly obvious - I try not to get overly descriptive with them.

After all, wasn’t it Shakespeare who said, “Brevity is the heart of wit”.

The acting is quite.... sub-par. I don't believe this is fully due to the day-players (main cast) but more something to do with the clashing tones and writing of said characters. It seems like most of the cast isn't sure if they are taking part in self aware schlock-fest or a serious action flick. Thus a lot of the performances either fall flat or contrast each other in an unfavourable way. Chris Evans' acting suffers greatly from these factors, whereas some of the other actors actually have a few moments of saving grace.

Here's a quick list of the actors that I think helped to elevate the piece: 

Song Kang-ho 송강호Tilda Swinton - Minister Mason

John Hurt - Gilliam

Ed Harris - Wilford

Go-ah Sung 고아성  - Yona

Now I will bid you adieu, since I feel I have stated the majority of my opinions on the topic - without going overboard.

Damn. 

 If ‘Snowpiercer’ was a naval film - rather than one about living aboard a train… the use of the word ‘overboard’ would have constituted a pretty okay nautical pun. 

Rating 5.5/10

A black, gelatinous protein bar made from crickets.

Just watch the movie.