Snowpiercer, released in 2013, is a film that follows the journey of the remainder of humanity as they try to escape the second Ice Age on a train (the snowpiercer). It is based on a French graphic novel, Le Transperceneige, by authors Jean-Marc Rochette, Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand. The train’s engine was made by Wilford, the main antagonist, who as a child wanted to create his own locomotive industry. He wanted to connect all of the continents in the world by train. He created the most powerful engine, and achieved his goal. The train becomes the home, with some sections better than others, for what is left of humanity. At the back end where the poor residents are treated terribly, protagonist Curtis has a plan with the other residents to start a revolution to shift the balance of power. They began making their way up front.
The most fascinating aspect of the movie has to be the set. You see the cars’ increase in quality as the group progresses to the front. The first car shows dark walls and compact living spaces, representing grittiness and how its residents have made it their own throughout the 18 years of living there. Their living areas or bunks are stacked upon each other and they have very narrow spaces for circulation. There also aren’t any windows so the lighting in the tail section is stark and limited. The set designers use this to also reflect the fact that these residents do not have access to water or proper food.
Moving on, they arrive in the water filtration car, then the sushi bar section. After that they walk through an aquarium, and a school car. And finally, heading to the engine room, the front most section of the train where Wilford resides, we see uniform walls representing the machine, as well as a circular opening. That is where the moving parts are working constantly to keep the train moving and its residents alive.
As known, cyberpunk is a subgenre of sci-fi in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a combination of low-life and high tech featuring advanced technological and scientific achievements. Snowpiercer blends class war with dystopian drama. Not being set in an urban jungle like most other cyberpunk movies, this movie gives a closer look at the low-life fractured society confined to a high-tech locomotive. Symmetry and repetition are design concepts found in almost all sections of the train. Near the back, geometric shapes are used to add dimension to walls and doors. Combined with the worn out and dirty aesthetic of that section, we see how unique the caboose has become. The middle and front cars use the shapes and concepts to elongate their walls. The pool car is a great example. Its walls contain repeated openings used as windows, as well as arches all along the length of the car. Some cars, of course, are very different from others, but still show some connection to the back section.
Throughout the movie, we also get glimpses of what life outside of the train looked like. We are shown many tall structures, covered in snow and ice, that represent the past normal life of the passengers on Earth. We can tell that they seemed to be in perfect shape before being abandoned by the population. Although there were many scenes that showed how brutal life outside could be, the ending scene suggests that there is in fact life on Earth and possibly resources that can sustain human life.
Snowpiercer provides a visual treat of how multiple mini-ecosystems are kept working on a high-speed train racing around the world, while at the same time dissecting issues of class.
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