Snowpiercer (2013)
Parasite, but on a train.
Presentation:
Koreans sure do love their trains. Bong Joon Ho creates a western popcorn flick with a visually captivating metaphor at the same time. As for sci-fi films, I think it was pretty entertaining and for fans of the dystopian genre, I think this film delivers on most fronts. Chris Evans is pretty dull and empty brained, but Tilda Swinton really steals the show, so much you might even root for her.
Story:
It seems every director wants to fish for an Oscar, and the easiest way is to make some commentary on capitalism. Like many Korean films, more than half of them will be about class and wealth inequality. This film does this metaphor in a fun and meaningful way that feels honest and less lecturing compared to overt Netflix films. It's better than the film The Platform but still worse than Parasite. The poor passengers are good and the rich people at the front of the train are bad. At the end, the world can repopulate with Adam and Eve with enough genetic diversity.
Conclusion:
This is one of the earlier films on class inequality that is actually pretty well executed. Even if you don’t agree with the politics, it shouldn’t distract you from hopping aboard this train to deliverance. Pretty to look at, fun, grab some popcorn and let 2 hours fly by.
Recommendations
Last student standing wins.