Snowpiercer. (15.)
Directed by Bong Joon-ho. 2013.
Starring Chris Evans, Song Kang Ho, Jamie Bell, Go Ah-sung, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Ewan Bremner, John Hurt and Ed Harris. Partly subtitled. Out on Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate. 126 mins.
It's taken seven years but, though you may have already streamed it on the N-word or one of the other platforms, this marks the formal British release of the film Bong Joon-ho made before the film he made before Parasite. Released in 2013 it has been successfully shown all over the world and a TV adaptation is nearing release but we have been shunned for the whole seven years. Apparently, we can bundle the blame onto the hunched and not-quite-broken-enough shoulders of Harvey Weinstein, who sulked when Bong refused to make the 20 minutes of cuts he suggested would improve the film.
This sci-fi dystopia about the last remnants of humanity stuck on a railway endlessly circling a frozen earth is like a Great Train Journey of the World where the majority of the train is taken up by Michael Portillos: the privileged elite live in luxury at the front while at the back of the train the huddled masses plan revolution, led by Chris Evans.
There's a character called Gilliam (Hurt) but if that's a nod to Terry it's a piece of misdirection. There are some amazing set and costume designs and this instalment of Tilda Swinton's Fancy Dress Roadshow sees her turn up as a Victoria Wood caricature of Thatcher, but the tone is mostly downbeat and punctuated by violent setpieces, including a cheeky homage to the corridor hammer fight in Oldboy.
These scenes from the class struggle on a choo choo train aren't the most nuanced of political allegory but for every credibility stretch or blunt statement, there's a something more subtle. It's good on on the futility of revolution and struggles of leadership. Your inner pedant may keep wanting to interject but overall it unique vision and forward momentum batters down objections. There's no piercer, like Snowpiercer.
Directed by Bong Joon-ho. 2013.
Starring Chris Evans, Song Kang Ho, Jamie Bell, Go Ah-sung, Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, Ewan Bremner, John Hurt and Ed Harris. Partly subtitled. Out on Blu-ray and DVD from Lionsgate. 126 mins.
It's taken seven years but, though you may have already streamed it on the N-word or one of the other platforms, this marks the formal British release of the film Bong Joon-ho made before the film he made before Parasite. Released in 2013 it has been successfully shown all over the world and a TV adaptation is nearing release but we have been shunned for the whole seven years. Apparently, we can bundle the blame onto the hunched and not-quite-broken-enough shoulders of Harvey Weinstein, who sulked when Bong refused to make the 20 minutes of cuts he suggested would improve the film.
This sci-fi dystopia about the last remnants of humanity stuck on a railway endlessly circling a frozen earth is like a Great Train Journey of the World where the majority of the train is taken up by Michael Portillos: the privileged elite live in luxury at the front while at the back of the train the huddled masses plan revolution, led by Chris Evans.
There's a character called Gilliam (Hurt) but if that's a nod to Terry it's a piece of misdirection. There are some amazing set and costume designs and this instalment of Tilda Swinton's Fancy Dress Roadshow sees her turn up as a Victoria Wood caricature of Thatcher, but the tone is mostly downbeat and punctuated by violent setpieces, including a cheeky homage to the corridor hammer fight in Oldboy.
These scenes from the class struggle on a choo choo train aren't the most nuanced of political allegory but for every credibility stretch or blunt statement, there's a something more subtle. It's good on on the futility of revolution and struggles of leadership. Your inner pedant may keep wanting to interject but overall it unique vision and forward momentum batters down objections. There's no piercer, like Snowpiercer.
