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Snowpiercer
Regie:
Joon-ho BongKamera:
Kyung-pyo HongMusik:
Marco BeltramiBesetzung:
Chris Evans, Kang-ho Song, Jamie Bell, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Ewen Bremner, Alison Pill, Ed Harris, Ah-seong Ko, Kenny Doughty (mehr)Streaming (5)
Inhalte(1)
Die Erde in naher Zukunft: Ewiges Eis und Schnee bedecken den einst so grünen Planeten. Kein Leben rührt sich. Nur ein Zug, der einsam durch die verlassene Schneelandschaft fährt, bietet den überlebenden Menschen noch Schutz vor der tödlichen Kälte. Hier haben sie ihre letzte Zuflucht gefunden. Doch die Masse der verbliebenen Menschheit fristet im hinteren Teil des Zuges ein Leben in ewiger Dunkelheit, während vorne die wenigen reichen Passagiere im Luxus schwelgen. Aber die Zeichen stehen auf Veränderung. Eine Revolution steht kurz bevor ... (MFA/MFA+)
(mehr)Kritiken (16)
Ein Koproduktion-Pseudo-Hollywood-Hit mit einem gedanklichen Übergreifen? An manchen Stellen OK (spannend, überraschend), an manchen lächerlich wie die letzten Shyamalan-Filme (manche Figuren) oder der diesjährige Hollywood-Durchfall Transcendence. Eine seltsame Science-Fiction-Form mit einer Starbesetzung.
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Snowpiercer is one of the purest transferences of video-game narrative structure into film. The protagonists constantly advance, progressing from bare-knuckle fighting to cutting weapons and fire to guns and explosives. Each rail car (mission) has a distinctly different design, and we can also understand the POV shots with night-vision goggles as a reference to the game’s aesthetic. After every action there is a reward in the form of plot-shaping information about one of the characters and their motivations (which vary – children, drugs, revenge – thanks to which we can clearly separate the individuals from the united group). ___ However, the narrative’s clarity and fluidity are due not only to the fact that it is broken up into many smaller parts. Though it is absolutely clear from the beginning where the plot is going (yes, forward), we are constantly kept in a state of anticipation and surprised by the various hints, diversions and ellipses (for example, we may incorrectly believe that the rabble at the end of the train are missing limbs because those limbs have “frozen to death”). ___ Besides creative contrasts (the colourful “shock” in the form of a school classroom), the straightforward paving of the way forward is livened up by unexpected incursions of other genres (a brutal massacre interrupted by the welcoming of the new year, a musical interlude with children) and by the characters’ unconventional behaviour (not all positive heroes always behave “humanly”). Bong doesn’t tell us anything that we don’t (or won’t) need to know in order to understand the protagonist and the main storyline connected to him and every seemingly superfluous item of information, conveyed verbally or visually, is utilised sooner or later (the matches, the snowflake, the polar bear, other characters’ conversations with Curtis). ___ The speed with which the individual rail cars alternate corresponds to the amount of information that has to be shared. At the midpoint of the film, Curtis correctly says “I can go faster”, and the pace actually accelerates (there are more frequent cuts to the landscape outside of the train, for example) and important characters begin to die at an increasing rate. ___ Though the direction of the narrative indicates that it will turn out to be a naive drama of social revolution along the lines of Elysium, the ideological position that the form ultimately assigns to Curtis is ambiguous. (Nor does the outlined regime bear the unambiguous hallmarks of fascism. Apart from the eugenic measuring of children and the capitalistic transformation of a person into a replaceable part of the production mechanism, we are also witnesses to the building of a cult of personality and the introduction of newspeak of the “shoe = disorder” type that characterises any given totalitarian regime.) Instead of clear answers similar to those provided at the end of The Matrix, the climax raises a number of new questions and from the space of some sort of archaically straightforward narrative (it’s impossible not to recall old slapstick farces, westerns and phantom rides), we, like Curtis, are thrown from blissful ignorance into our post-ideologically and post-modernistically unintelligible reality. ___ Perhaps I’m overstating the case, but Snowpiercer is not just another dumb action flick in which the idea is subordinate to the spectacle. At least in my case, intellectual and sensory pleasure were in balance. 85%
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Mutant, from the same director, was also incredibly hyped abroad, but for me it was an unwatchable, stupid piece of crap, so I went into Snowpiercer with some healthy apprehension. The result, however, blew me away. There are some shortcomings, like the almost video-game like special effects (when we see the train from the outside, or the frozen landscape), or the ending, which I personally would cut three minutes earlier, but I’m willing to forgive them. At first I was afraid that the premise of a post-apocalyptic train riot wouldn’t be enough for a two hour film. But it is. The passage from one car to the next is a little monotonous, but it’s saved by the dirty atmosphere, the sharp action and the excellent performances (especially Tilda Swinton’s, while I felt Octavia Spencer was the weakest link of the ensemble). About half-way through, we start getting a relentless barrage of directorial ideas, plot twists, brutal and unexpected deaths (the film doesn’t go easy on its stars, in this regard Joon-ho Bong is quite uncompromising), brutality and slightly philosophical thoughts, and I was purring in satisfaction. I have a weak spot for dystopian sci-fi and this movie checked all the boxes. And, as a Czech viewer, I was happy to hear that one sentence in Czech, and the Czech names in the credits. The film was made in Barrandov Studios :)
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Once I ignore a whole lot of nonsense (for example, the fact that I couldn’t technically imagine the train or what the purpose of the people at the end of the train was), it’s actually a pretty decent sci-fi that has a hint of murder-movie atmosphere until the very end. However, it’s still an interesting idea, a good execution and a surprise in the form of a single Czech sentence said by some Asian woman.
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Eine in der tat famose Filmantwort auf Aldiss‘ Klassiker "Non Stop". Wie ist denn aus einem klaustrophobischen Raum ein abenteuerliches und unvorhersehbares Universum herauszuzaubern? Den Raum in Fragmente aufzuteilen, jedes Fragment als geschlossenes Ökosystem anzulegen und sie mit Bongs Poetik zu verknüpfen, die am Rande der Kabarettstilisierung und (post) industriellen Dystopie oszilliert. Trotz eines gewissen anachronistischen Ambientes der Metapher der ewigen Maschine, welche die Körper der Proletarier verschlingt, ist Snowpiercer die bestmögliche Rückkehr zum Ethos der klassischen Dystopie-Science-Fiction. Ein Film, der sich auch dort behaupten wird, wo Elysium an einem Übermaß an Thesen unterging. Eine hervorragende Leistung von Evans, Harris und natürlich dem aufgedunsenen Clown Song. Meiner Ansicht nach ist dies eindeutig eine Fahrt in der ersten Klasse, die selbst durch die etwas schwächere "Exterieur"-Effekte oder die Tatsache, dass Pong sich selbst in der Vergangenheit die Messlatte zum Mutieren von Genres so hoch gesetzt hat, dass diese wahrscheinlich mehr so einfach zu überwinden sein wird, nicht sprichwörtlich untergeht. [85%]
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Czech-Korean-British-French-American collaboration on an unusual sci-fi about a “train that doesn’t stop, never stops, never stops anywhere" where people behave like animals. And it’s obvious who made it. The same as in his other works, this refuses to follow the rules, sometimes making it seem a little gratuitous and exhibitionistic, but most of the time it benefits to movie.
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Some time ago this train just blew past me, but when the Oscar buzz was revolving around its director a few years later, I tried to find out what was going on at Barrandov at that time. And it's a surprising gem that's sometimes a thriller, sometimes an existential drama, and sometimes even a calm action RPG. I love that feeling when I have no idea what might happen the next minute, and when no explanation is too far-fetched to be true. And believe me, once a viewer explores the fan theory that Snowpiercer takes place in the same world as Willy Wonka, there is no turning back.
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With Snowpiercer, Bong Joon-ho confirms his status as a maker of completely unique films who is able to brilliantly combine magnificent and intense spectacle with a unique vision and a supremely creative approach. Although Snowpiercer is based on the motifs of a French comic book, Bong took inspiration only from the source work’s basic premise, into which he inserted his own story (as in the case of his previous films, this time Bong is both the director and screenwriter; American screenwriter Kelly Masterson was responsible only for adapting the dialogue into English). Bong again builds the narrative on opposing principles, the combination of which gives rise to a unique, multifaceted work. In specific terms, we have a depressing Kafkaesque parable about our world and the individual caught in the gears of a rigid system presented using the blueprint of a seemingly Hollywood-style (but also Eisenstein-esque) tale of rebellion, conceived as a “blockbuster project with a devilishly unpredictable plot”. Together with the protagonists, the brilliant narrative gradually reveals to us the various levels of the hierarchy and the components that ensure the functioning of the microcosm, while concurrently and seemingly inadvertently giving us clues that much later will fit into the overall picture of a world founded on fear and anxiety. This world is in the form of a train, which, like a perpetual-motion machine, runs on tracks that do not have the form of a line with a beginning and an end, but an endless loop with regularly repeating cycles. Change is an illusion within this system, from which there is only one way out, but it is as intoxicating as a drug and as terrifying and final as the apocalypse. The common creative principle in Bong’s previous films, which we can describe as the subjugation of the direction of the original genre story through ambiguous and complex characters, is brought to its maximum level and meta-reflection in Snowpiercer – the ideal of the folk hero and rebellion against the establishment is gradually twisted as an increasingly complex view of the film’s world, of which the characters are integral and essential parts, is revealed to the viewers. _____ In the context of the narrative ideas contained in Snowpiercer, the story of the film’s distribution is paradoxical. What was supposed to be a magnificent story about how a distinctive filmmaker from South Korea created an international hit ultimately turned out to be a cruel slap in the face by the calculating Weinstein pigs who ruthlessly prevented any early international releases of the film (with the exception of France, where the rights had been sold earlier and where the film appeared at a few minor festivals and eventually on Blu-ray, which became the source of the copies that flooded the internet, thus significantly limiting the chance of earning box-office revenues in other countries, where the film is finally appearing after many months of haggling). Following this thorough reminder of where their place is in the global market, it cannot be expected that the disappointed director and the majority production company, CJ Entertainment, will attempt another project that goes beyond the Asian market and limited release abroad any time soon (more information on this affair is available here).
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At first I felt like I was back in Train to Busan (if you like movies on a train, I recommend watching it), and got a little lost in the darkness, but once the director's favorite Kang-ho Song joined in, I started to enjoy the erratic ride. In the second part of the film, the director's favorite theme, the clash between two completely different social classes, comes into play. Bong Joon-ho revels in this and knows how to give it the right contrast. Anyone who has ever walked on a plane from Economy Class to First Class actually has a bit of a trailer for this film. It's just a little more extreme here. 3.5 stars.
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Those who approach Snowpiercer as a dissolute B-movie might eventually have a good time with it. Anyone looking for a seriously conceived dystopia will be burned badly. My only star is more related to the fact that the film betrayed one of the most important principles I demand from the world of cinema. I have already written in my profile that from the fictional film world, no matter how fantastic it may be, I require solid logical foundations and its protagonists must move meaningfully within it. The director and screenwriter in-one did not bother to build any logical foundations at all. Everything is subordinated to the momentary effect and the next action scene. The film is a pulp crap, but it has remarkably decent casting, and Joon-ho Bong is not to be discarded as a craftsman. Occasionally, a spark of interest flashed for me in scenes that were obviously inspired by Terry Gilliam's darkly grotesque world and his famous films Brazil and 12 Monkeys (typical of this is the speech of the minister in front of the crowd of wretches from the lowest class). But those were just timid flashes that had no continuity, so in the end, my overall impression is only 25%.
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An excellent sci-fi adapted from an old French comic book with a rather dated plot. Lots of excellent individual scenes, but the very end went a bit wobbly during an otherwise excellently begun ending. Kang-ho Song excellent, Chris Evans tried, Tilda Swinton reaches the zenith of repulsiveness.
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You can feel a lot from the eastern touch, not only through the construction of the mise-en-scène, or the typically consistent and clear editing composition, but also by the change of settings and action scenes, they seem like copy-paste. Paradoxically, the Western faces and the English language sometimes seem awkward. It can be said that it is essentially an atypical and thematically interesting film, but brutally impersonal. I didn't feel like rooting for anyone, quite the opposite. The bigger the fight, the better. I was expecting a refined twist like the American remake of Oldboy , but I didn't get it. A similarly bold and confident film, but technically erratic and conceptually stunted although yes, there are some interesting directorial ideas.
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Bevor ich die anderen Filme von Bong Joon-ho sah, war ich bei Snowpiercer ein bisschen skeptisch. Die Starbesetzung und so ein gewöhnlich aussehender Plot, der mehr sein möchte… Sie verstehen ja, es war seltsam. Dann habe ich aber die ausgezeichneten Filme Parasite, The Host und Okja gesehen. Das führte dazu, dass ich mich auf Snowpiercer immer mehr gefreut habe, weil es genau die Geschichte ist, die Bong Joon-ho aufnehmen sollte. Die Science-Fiction-Metapher auf den Gleisen, ausgearbeitete Figuren, Spannung, Action, Humor, ein paar bizarre Dinge und mehrere Überraschungen. Einigen kann es einfach und billig vorkommen. Das wundert mich nicht, weil Bong Joon-ho nicht jedermanns Sache ist. Das ist aber nur der Beweis dafür, dass er ein sehr außergewöhnlicher Autor ist.
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In terms of casting and production values, this is an American project through and through, but the credit for the effective narration of such spectacular material goes purely to the director wizard from South Korea. Bong does a brilliant job with the pacing and the dosing of information, thanks to which the curiosity of the viewer never wavers through the entire train, and he constantly drops new clues that rewrite the genre and motivational expectations. With the progression through the spatial levels, the stylistic dominants change, producing unexpected genre tricks, some of which are funny, while others tense and action-packed. The creators are aware that the premise cannot be taken seriously from a purely rational perspective, and therefore are not afraid to push aside some serious motifs with an absurd and symbolic twist (which, by the way, is a strong aspect of all Bong’s films). And though the cynicism of the story is annoying at times, and it’s hard sometimes to accept the strong ideas wrapped in violent rebellion through various conventions (whether genre or social criticism – which is another characteristic of the director’s work), Snowpiercer never abates in its specific communication with the viewer and showcases an entertaining fictional world that is a joy to discover. How good Evans, Hurt, Swinton and Harris are in their roles is something there’s no point arguing about. Give Snowpiercer a chance and try not to think, it’ll pay off. 85%
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Postapokalyptischer Comic-Sci-Fi, außergewöhnlich hochwertig und funktionierend nach einem attraktiven Prinzip - die Helden gehen von den hinteren Waggons eines langen Zuges zu den vordersten und es erwartet sie in jedem von ihnen eine Überraschung. Der Film erinnert mit seiner Struktur an ein Computerspiel und schafft es, fast zwei Stunden lang zu unterhalten, hauptsächlich dank qualifizierter Schauspieler (die Besetzung ist unglaublich), herausragender visueller Effekte und der virtuosen Leistung des Regisseurs. Kurz gesagt, eine effektvolle, einfallsreiche und intelligente Fahrt mit philosophischem Unterton, die leider gegen Ende etwas abkühlt.
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A film definitely worth seeing. The great idea of post-apocalyptic sci-fi is developed deeper than expected, and surprisingly, it is not annoying. It works. I am sure it is the South Korean approach that worked wonders even with Western actors. In addition, the screenplay is not just an empty statement. There are scenes here that would not fit into a similar film in most cases, but here they work excellently. Chris Evans also proves that he can act.
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