by Mackenzie Portfolio

It’s not too late to get on board this summer’s controversial anti-blockbuster!  Snowpiercer, directed by Joon-ho Bong (The Host, Mother), shows no signs of slowing down despite its initial limited North American release.  The sci-fi film, based off the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige (written by Jacques Lob and art by Jean-Marc Rochette), is not your typical feel good summer flick, but it sticks with you for days and leaves you wanting more.

The film takes place just 17 years in the future and the world as we know it has been consumed in a white subzero wasteland due to a failed attempt to solve global warming.  At 1,001 carriages long and powered by a revolutionary engine, the remaining members of society live aboard the colossal train named the Snowpiercer.  Separated by class, the elite live at the head of the train with every luxury they could possibly desire at their fingertips.  Salons, tailors, steam rooms, dance club, fine dining, and plenty of alcohol and drugs (known as Kronol, or in the book Chronole) to keep them entertained on their never ending voyage around the frozen planet.  The lower class, however, are confined to tight quarters at the end of the train.  Packed in like cattle they receive limited rationings of what they call, protein bars, and lack even the simplest luxuries including the absence of a window.  Imprisoned to perpetual darkness and a claustrophobic life the main character Curtis, played by Chris Evans, is selected as his people’s leader to rise against their oppressors and take over the train’s engine.  Guided by his mentor Gilliam (played by John Hurt), Curtis must fight his way toward the front of the train on a journey to start a revolution and inevitably learn who he is and what he is meant to be. 

The journey through the train carriages is reminiscent of your classic video game format.  As Curtis moves through each carriage (or level) he is met with new challenges while his ultimate goal is to reach the final boss, who in this case is Wilfred, the creator of Snowpiercer.  I won’t give away too much of the film but the action scenes are completely mind blowing.  The confined space of the train versus the break away shots of the vast snow filled covered landscapes cause you to feel the tension of the train’s tight spaces.  The desire to break free is clear and they are prepared to fight the good fight. 

Director Joon-ho Bong first became interested in the story of Snowpiercer back in 2005 when he stumbled across the book on the shelves of a comic book shop in Seoul.  He became engulfed in the pages and quickly read the entire story right there.  Once he finished he knew he had to bring the story to life. Despite the fact it was written 30 years ago the classic theme of “the haves” and “the have nots” is always relevant and is the catalyst for both the book and movie. While the story Bong presents us is different from the original Snowpiercer it certainly has parallels reminiscent of the graphic novel.  Both Curtis and the main characters in Snowpiercer 1: The Escape (Proloff) and Snowpiercer 2: The Explorers (Puig) struggle with trying to get to the front of the train. Once they arrive however, a wrench is thrown in disrupting the original plan.  Curtis, Proloff, and Puig each struggle with the idea of becoming a leader as they have been put into the position, and not by choice.  Additionally both the main character in the film and graphic novels hold a dark past…While the book only hints at the dark side, the details Curtis divulges in the movie sends chills down your spine and makes you question how he’s made it this far.

There’s no denying that Bong also borrowed visual elements from the graphic novel to help bring the story to life on the big screen.

Now, with a cast including Chris Evans, Ed Harris, John Hurt, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, and Octavia Spencer you might be asking yourself why you haven’t heard of this film sooner.  Long story short, The Weinstein Co. had bought the rights to film back in 2012.   However Bong and Harvey Weinstein clashed when it came to the creative direction of the film.  Weinstein wanted 20 minutes cut out and a voice over narrative, while Bong stuck to his guns insisting the movie would suffer with those edits.  In the end Bong won…sort of.  While Weinstein let Bong keep the movie intact he put the breaks on a wide release for the film.  Only eight theaters were originally slated to show the movie.  The film had already been released internationally last year and did quite well earning $80.2 million.

Despite Weinstein trying to freeze out Snowpiercer it has expanded to at least 150 theaters and is even available on VOD, and is currently number two on iTunes.  The film earned $3 million in the first week in the US with an additional $2 million through VOD.  Granted it’s not the numbers we see with big movie premiers such as The Avengers but not bad for a movie that had minimal advertising and only word of mouth behind it.  And with all the chatter concerning the movie’s controversy with Weinstein as well as the graphic novel’s reputation, more and more people are heading out to their local art house theaters or downloading it to see what the buzz is about.  Weinsten could not have predicted this turn of events.  The simultaneous release of the film in both theaters and VOD has the film industry buzzing about how we will watch movies in the years to come.  We could possibly see more and more films released this way if they prove to financially be a success.  It used to be a bad sign if a film was only in theaters for a couple weeks and then straight to digital.  But with the success of Snowpiercer it could be the tipping point as to how we think about distributing new releases.Snowpiercer has all the ingredients of what makes up an incredible blockbuster minus the flashy marketing campaign and the overused 3D IMAX experience.  This film is visually stimulating, packed with action, adventure, drama, and will leave you with a heavy heart.  Check your local listings to see Snowpiercer in theaters, or for an express viewing curl up on the couch and download it off of iTunes or Amazon Instant Video.