My Dearest Reader,
There is no film like Snowpiercer. My only regret is that I did not watch it sooner. After watching director Bong Joon-ho's Parasite, I wanted to see more of this world through his eyes, and this film did not disappoint. It's all I've been able to really think about since I saw it.
From the very beginning, Snowpiercer is quick to establish the dire living situation that the tail end members of the train are in. They eat disgusting blocks of unknown substance. Their quarters are cold, dark and crammed with people. Even the children, who are called "train babies" because their existence has solely been on this train, live in terrible conditions. Yet, despite this horrific reality that they are in, the people remain hopeful.
That's the beauty of hope in post-apocalyptic films like this. They can be on one end of the hope spectrum or the other:
On one side, the films protagonists may be hopeless but stay strong and become hopeful with the help of others.
On the other end, the films protagonists are very hopeful from the start, all the way until some third act tragedy changes things.
But with Snowpiercer, the resilience of the characters shines bright all the way to the end of the line.
This group of underdogs want everyone to know that nothing is stopping them from getting to the front of that train. Chris Evans performance here is way too underrated. Much of the films strength and heart comes from his rugged line delivery and close ups into the face of a man who feels defeated but allows his hope for a better life and future lead him forward.
I could go on and on about this film. What was your favorite part? Mine was definitely when our tail enders seem like they have been defeated; the Yekaterina tunnel is coming, and the army of soldiers they are facing have night vision goggles accompanied by sharp axes. The brilliant work of cinematographer Hong Gyeong-Pyo shines extra bright here(literally) as one of the young tail enders runs through the crowd of fighters holding a bright, flaming torch. Close behind him are even more tail enders holding their own flaming torches.
The imagery is beautiful and unmatched, especially for an action movie. Another action movie with great imagery would be John Wick 2, but that's a letter for another day.
I am going to close this letter now, but I really hope that more and more people get the chance to watch this film.
Yours Truly,
a film lover
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