Several years ago I viewed a South Korean film,
Mother (2009), I thought was brilliant. It was directed by Joon-Ho Bong. My admiration for it must have led me to rent
Snowpiercer (2013), which I viewed last night courtesy of Netflix. Unlike the former, which is about the lengths a mom will go to protect a child, it is sci-fi, set in the future. The entire planet is under snow and ice after environmental alarmists release a gas into the atmosphere they believe will stop global warming - love it! The only survivors are aboard a super train that perpetually circles the planet, blasting through frozen formations that block the tracks. The train is a microcosm of the world, including in terms of class structure. Those at the end suffer a brutal existence. They choose to rebel. I suppose allegory is intended, and whether it works on that level will probably depend on how the viewer sees the world. I don’t see any correlation to America or any current western societies, at least not at present, although I’m sure leftists would argue to the contrary. Although the flick is not completely successful, it is never boring. I watched its 126 minutes in one sitting. There is plenty of mayhem and solid special effects to satisfy action fans. While four countries collaborated on the production, it is largely in English. Unfortunately, there is no closed captioning, and a lot of plot points may have been lost to me. Chris Evans, who plays
Captain America in the movies based on
Marvel Comics, is the star. John Hurt, his character a multiple amputee, is unrecognizable except for his voice. Tilda Swinton does a bizarre turn as a Nazi-like officer. Ed Harris is the genius who manufactured the train and keeps it running. I expected the ubiquitous Ron Perlman to show up, but he must have been otherwise engaged. 104,000+ users have rated the film at IMDb, forging to a consensus of seven on a scale of ten, which seems about right. Several contributors in the commentary section believe it is a classic. I disagree. The film is based on a French novel,
Le Transperceneige by Rochette. Published in 1984, apparently out of print, it is being offered for $187 at Amazon. Although the film is violent, it is shot in a way that doesn’t gross out the viewer.
The madness paid off today. Although it wasn't terribly cold, there wasn't any sunshine, so I was never comfortable. Fortunately, the Chase bank blocked whatever wind there was, so I was able to put in two hours at the floating book shop. My thanks to Christopher, who bought
Exchanges, to Ralph, who bought six works of non-fiction, to the gentleman who selected a young adult paperback, and to the woman who donated seven novels in pristine condition.
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Web Site:
http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
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