summercomfort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
summercomfort) wrote2014-07-05 10:09 pm
summercomfort) wrote2014-07-05 10:09 pm
Snowpiercer
OMG just watched Snowpiercer today. IT IS AN EXCELLENT MOVIE. PLEASE GO WATCH IT.
Non-spoiler thoughts:
- I *really* like how all the main characters are developed in this film -- you get to see bits and pieces through these slooooow reveals. There's no clobbering you on the head with Significant Moments. There are times when you know Something Important Is Going Down, but the camera cuts away at that moment, and it's only revealed half an hour later. The pacing is just so perfect, the way it builds to the climax. For once, I actually *don't* want to spoil the movie, because watching everything unfold at the right time was just so great. And now that I've watched it, I want to watch it again to catch all of the nuances of the dialogue and the setting in the early part of the movie.
- I went into it rather skeptical about the whole dystopian future setup, because there's so many ways it could go wrong, but the whole structured-dystopian-system vs. human challenge thing worked out really well.
- Some pretty awesome action scenes. Only got a little wince-inducing for me at 2 parts.
- Awesome acting on all parts. I loved all of Chris Evans' microexpressions. <3
- Wish the side characters were a bit more developed, especially the poc characters.
Okay, I don't think I can say more without giving away the experience of watching the film, so spoilery thoughts follow.
First, some character names/context, in case you haven't watched this and are still reading:
- The world is frozen due to Dumb Attempt to Stop Global Warming. The remains of humanity are a train that is stratified like human society: the tail of the train are the downtrodden, and the head of the train are the rich first class passengers, and the Engine.
- Curtis is the guy played by Chris Evans. He was 17 when he got on the train, and now it's 17 years later. He leads the revolt from the tail of the train and eventually makes it to the head.
- Edgar is Curtis' sidekick, he's probably 18 or so.
- Namgoong is the Korean tech guy from the middle of the train who they bribe into opening doors. His daughter Yona is 17 (a train baby).
- Gilliam is the aging leader of the tail of the train.
- Minister Mason is the woman who administrates the train.
- Wilford is the designer of the train who resides in the Engine Room.
- Tanya is a black mother from the back of the train whose son Timmy gets taken by Wilford's secretary at the beginning of the movie after getting measured for his height.
Second, getting the nitpicks and problems out of the way...
- I wish Tanya could have gotten more development than "dedicated mom." (Especially since she's on ALL THE POSTERS??!)
- The sauna fight scene was pretty unnecessary, and served mostly to trim down the cast to the core characters (otherwise known as awesome characters suddenly die just before the climactic face-off.) - The core characters are 3 white dudes and 2 Koreans, when there are plenty of other folks on the train.
- Random kickass Korean dude -- why so little character development? Why did they choose to have *him* be the one with the tongue cut out? :/
Okay, now on to the stuff that I loved, and various meta thoughts.
- Curtis' character arc. From a brutal beginning, to being touched by Gilliam's sacrifice (totally Buddhist, btw: sacrificing of your own body in order to grant life to others, and in the process changing hearts towards compassion.) But then there's this immense guilt about his former self, and guilt about the fact that *he* couldn't perform that same self-sacrificial act. And then finally being able to.
- Curtis and Edgar. Edgar is SO IMPORTANT to Curtis -- both his salvation and his guilt. Thus the questions at the beginning like "do you remember your mother's face?" (urg Curtis you) and "people rarely live up to expectations." And all of the protective parenty stuff that he does with Edgar -- anchoring him and telling him to be more patient, while at the same time trying to shield Edgar from the hard decisions that Curtis has to make. AND THEN THE DECISION where Curtis has to choose between saving Edgar and capturing Minister Mason. That's the turning point of the film in so many ways. This is where Curtis shows that he's more than what Wilford accounted for (Wilford and Mason knew how important Edgar is to Curtis, and is Very Intentionally holding him hostage). But Curtis makes the hard choice, the brutal choice, the unexpected choice. I want to watch Gilliam's conversation with Curtis after that, because I think that's when Gilliam realizes that Curtis is leadership material.
- Wilford and his Systems and Rituals. Everyone on the train is a little bit crazy, Wilford especially. Or rather, because of Wilford. Chris had the theory that Wilford wilfully triggered the snowpocalypse, but I see Wilford as more of a pure systems-geek. Train-geeks tend to obsess a bit over numbers and train lines and the Order of things. And he's someone who's so obsessed, he decides to (a) build a world-spanning track that takes exactly 1 year to travel, and (b) build a closed-system train. I think when the world went to shit (due to humanity's hubris in trying to manipulate the world climate system, nice parallel), what probably happened was that people started getting on Wilford's train and not getting off, and he's like "hmmm, okay, looks like I need to expand my closed system to include people." Everything on the train is about this System, and all these accompanying rituals: The new year countdown and "celebration," The rituals of worship as taught to the schoolchildren, the formal hand gestures, the mythologizing of Wilford and the previous rebellions. It reminds me a bit of Utena in this way as well -- Wilford's train's society and ecosystem is a manifestation of his own psychosis. What really gets me, too, is that everyone on that train over the age of 17 did not start in this system -- they remember life before the system, but have had to warp themselves to conform to the system. (Namgoong and his kronols, for example.)
- Oh my god I loved the Curtis/Wilford conversation SO MUCH. Curtis starting out confrontational and bitter, with his piercing comebacks. Wilford breaking Curtis down bit by bit -- the truth about Gilliam, the "necessity" of the system, the call to leadership. I want to study that conversation and see how the writer made Curtis' complex emotional arc work through 10 minutes of veiled words and tense exchanges.
- Dehumanization and Brutality of "Leadership." There's a very interesting thread about what makes a good leader -- that the leader needs to make tough choices, but also think about people and humanity as a whole. But also have a sense of egotism that makes them feel like they have a right, nay, a duty, to lead. And also that this type of leadership is not what we need. Curtis and Wilford both understand dehumanization and brutality -- Wilford through his numbers and systems, and Curtis through his early days on the train. Curtis survived by treating fellow humans as not-humans. Wilford's train survived by creating a closed system where humans are manipulated as objects. They both care for humanity -- Wilford in this somewhat abstract way (just a part of his closed system), and Curtis out of a mixture of guilt and compassion and duty (as evidenced when Curtis chose the success of the rebellion over Edgar.) Curtis knows when to stand defiant, but also when to wait and accept dehumanizing brutality, and that that is what Wilford and Gilliam see as his "leadership" potential.
- Namgoong. He's the wild card, because he doesn't want to be a leader. He just wants out--he wants his daughter to step on soil again. And Namgoong's success is why this movie is about rejecting all of those ideas about "optimal leadership". I loved the conversation between Namgoong and Curtis because it was the reveal of the previous 2 hours of the slow reveal -- Curtis talking about his guilt, and Namgoong talking about his hope. I want to know more about Namgoong -- who was Yona's mother? Was she on the train, or did Namgoong embark with just baby Yona?
- Children = hope. I know that sounds really trite, but I think the movie did a decent job of presenting it, even though the children are kind of one-dimensional. (On the other hand, it's nice to see main characters who are in their 30s/40s.) The only thing that brings Curtis back from Wilford's offer are the kids, because children are Curtis' salvation. (Or rather, the desire to save children, driven by his previous guilt, is what triggers the final compassion that breaks down Curtis' egotism.) All the things that Namgoong does for Yona to protect her and shield her. Even Franco the Elder (Crazy Shooty Badguy Minion) goes crazy after Franco the Younger dies. Tanya and Timmy.
Non-spoiler thoughts:
- I *really* like how all the main characters are developed in this film -- you get to see bits and pieces through these slooooow reveals. There's no clobbering you on the head with Significant Moments. There are times when you know Something Important Is Going Down, but the camera cuts away at that moment, and it's only revealed half an hour later. The pacing is just so perfect, the way it builds to the climax. For once, I actually *don't* want to spoil the movie, because watching everything unfold at the right time was just so great. And now that I've watched it, I want to watch it again to catch all of the nuances of the dialogue and the setting in the early part of the movie.
- I went into it rather skeptical about the whole dystopian future setup, because there's so many ways it could go wrong, but the whole structured-dystopian-system vs. human challenge thing worked out really well.
- Some pretty awesome action scenes. Only got a little wince-inducing for me at 2 parts.
- Awesome acting on all parts. I loved all of Chris Evans' microexpressions. <3
- Wish the side characters were a bit more developed, especially the poc characters.
Okay, I don't think I can say more without giving away the experience of watching the film, so spoilery thoughts follow.
First, some character names/context, in case you haven't watched this and are still reading:
- The world is frozen due to Dumb Attempt to Stop Global Warming. The remains of humanity are a train that is stratified like human society: the tail of the train are the downtrodden, and the head of the train are the rich first class passengers, and the Engine.
- Curtis is the guy played by Chris Evans. He was 17 when he got on the train, and now it's 17 years later. He leads the revolt from the tail of the train and eventually makes it to the head.
- Edgar is Curtis' sidekick, he's probably 18 or so.
- Namgoong is the Korean tech guy from the middle of the train who they bribe into opening doors. His daughter Yona is 17 (a train baby).
- Gilliam is the aging leader of the tail of the train.
- Minister Mason is the woman who administrates the train.
- Wilford is the designer of the train who resides in the Engine Room.
- Tanya is a black mother from the back of the train whose son Timmy gets taken by Wilford's secretary at the beginning of the movie after getting measured for his height.
Second, getting the nitpicks and problems out of the way...
- I wish Tanya could have gotten more development than "dedicated mom." (Especially since she's on ALL THE POSTERS??!)
- The sauna fight scene was pretty unnecessary, and served mostly to trim down the cast to the core characters (otherwise known as awesome characters suddenly die just before the climactic face-off.) - The core characters are 3 white dudes and 2 Koreans, when there are plenty of other folks on the train.
- Random kickass Korean dude -- why so little character development? Why did they choose to have *him* be the one with the tongue cut out? :/
Okay, now on to the stuff that I loved, and various meta thoughts.
- Curtis' character arc. From a brutal beginning, to being touched by Gilliam's sacrifice (totally Buddhist, btw: sacrificing of your own body in order to grant life to others, and in the process changing hearts towards compassion.) But then there's this immense guilt about his former self, and guilt about the fact that *he* couldn't perform that same self-sacrificial act. And then finally being able to.
- Curtis and Edgar. Edgar is SO IMPORTANT to Curtis -- both his salvation and his guilt. Thus the questions at the beginning like "do you remember your mother's face?" (urg Curtis you) and "people rarely live up to expectations." And all of the protective parenty stuff that he does with Edgar -- anchoring him and telling him to be more patient, while at the same time trying to shield Edgar from the hard decisions that Curtis has to make. AND THEN THE DECISION where Curtis has to choose between saving Edgar and capturing Minister Mason. That's the turning point of the film in so many ways. This is where Curtis shows that he's more than what Wilford accounted for (Wilford and Mason knew how important Edgar is to Curtis, and is Very Intentionally holding him hostage). But Curtis makes the hard choice, the brutal choice, the unexpected choice. I want to watch Gilliam's conversation with Curtis after that, because I think that's when Gilliam realizes that Curtis is leadership material.
- Wilford and his Systems and Rituals. Everyone on the train is a little bit crazy, Wilford especially. Or rather, because of Wilford. Chris had the theory that Wilford wilfully triggered the snowpocalypse, but I see Wilford as more of a pure systems-geek. Train-geeks tend to obsess a bit over numbers and train lines and the Order of things. And he's someone who's so obsessed, he decides to (a) build a world-spanning track that takes exactly 1 year to travel, and (b) build a closed-system train. I think when the world went to shit (due to humanity's hubris in trying to manipulate the world climate system, nice parallel), what probably happened was that people started getting on Wilford's train and not getting off, and he's like "hmmm, okay, looks like I need to expand my closed system to include people." Everything on the train is about this System, and all these accompanying rituals: The new year countdown and "celebration," The rituals of worship as taught to the schoolchildren, the formal hand gestures, the mythologizing of Wilford and the previous rebellions. It reminds me a bit of Utena in this way as well -- Wilford's train's society and ecosystem is a manifestation of his own psychosis. What really gets me, too, is that everyone on that train over the age of 17 did not start in this system -- they remember life before the system, but have had to warp themselves to conform to the system. (Namgoong and his kronols, for example.)
- Oh my god I loved the Curtis/Wilford conversation SO MUCH. Curtis starting out confrontational and bitter, with his piercing comebacks. Wilford breaking Curtis down bit by bit -- the truth about Gilliam, the "necessity" of the system, the call to leadership. I want to study that conversation and see how the writer made Curtis' complex emotional arc work through 10 minutes of veiled words and tense exchanges.
- Dehumanization and Brutality of "Leadership." There's a very interesting thread about what makes a good leader -- that the leader needs to make tough choices, but also think about people and humanity as a whole. But also have a sense of egotism that makes them feel like they have a right, nay, a duty, to lead. And also that this type of leadership is not what we need. Curtis and Wilford both understand dehumanization and brutality -- Wilford through his numbers and systems, and Curtis through his early days on the train. Curtis survived by treating fellow humans as not-humans. Wilford's train survived by creating a closed system where humans are manipulated as objects. They both care for humanity -- Wilford in this somewhat abstract way (just a part of his closed system), and Curtis out of a mixture of guilt and compassion and duty (as evidenced when Curtis chose the success of the rebellion over Edgar.) Curtis knows when to stand defiant, but also when to wait and accept dehumanizing brutality, and that that is what Wilford and Gilliam see as his "leadership" potential.
- Namgoong. He's the wild card, because he doesn't want to be a leader. He just wants out--he wants his daughter to step on soil again. And Namgoong's success is why this movie is about rejecting all of those ideas about "optimal leadership". I loved the conversation between Namgoong and Curtis because it was the reveal of the previous 2 hours of the slow reveal -- Curtis talking about his guilt, and Namgoong talking about his hope. I want to know more about Namgoong -- who was Yona's mother? Was she on the train, or did Namgoong embark with just baby Yona?
- Children = hope. I know that sounds really trite, but I think the movie did a decent job of presenting it, even though the children are kind of one-dimensional. (On the other hand, it's nice to see main characters who are in their 30s/40s.) The only thing that brings Curtis back from Wilford's offer are the kids, because children are Curtis' salvation. (Or rather, the desire to save children, driven by his previous guilt, is what triggers the final compassion that breaks down Curtis' egotism.) All the things that Namgoong does for Yona to protect her and shield her. Even Franco the Elder (Crazy Shooty Badguy Minion) goes crazy after Franco the Younger dies. Tanya and Timmy.