Snowpiercer: Possibly the weirdest movie I've ever seen but nice and post-apocalyptic nonetheless

This image pretty much sums up Snowpiercer at its best: gritty revolutionaries versus a creepy upperclass and a good dose of messed up humor.

In Snowpiercer, the world has become a frozen wasteland. Scientists developed a chemical called CW7 that was designed to combat global warming by cooling the Earth. Instead it destroyed all life on Earth in a deep freeze. All life, that is, except for those lucky enough to board a train, run by a miraculous everlasting engine, created by a man called Wilford. However, life on the train is far from  idyllic for passengers in the tail section. While the upperclass dine on sushi and get their hair done the passengers in the back are forced into tight living quarters, have their children stolen from them and have to eat "protein blocks" made of unspeakable things.  What happens if they go outside the train?

As the movie gets underway the audience learns about Curtis, played by Chris Evans, who is set to lead the next revolution of the tail section. The movie follows Curtis's journey to the front of the train, to the engine and to Wilford, who is practically worshipped by the passengers of the train. Curtis believes that the other revolutions failed because they failed to capture the engine so that is what he sets out to do with the help of "security expert" Nam and his daughter Yona, who appears to have clairvoyant abilities.

Tilda Swinton's character was probably both the weirdest and best part of the movie. She plays Minister Mason (and is referred to as sir) a leader of the front section. She's creepy, grotesque, and often darkly hilarious.

 

The shocking part of this movie is that it takes place in a very near future. The CW7 is set off in 2014 and the action of the movie takes place in 2031. It was easy to see the parallels between the society
 of the train and our society. It takes the shocking difference of lifestyle between the rich and the poor and puts those two opposites right up against one another. It also shows the danger of a closed society in which humanity has no opportunity to grow. At the end of the movie *SPOILERS!* Nam blows up the door of the train and the subsequent avalanche causes the train to crash. Timmy and Yona, the only apparent survivors are left alone in a world that is slowly becoming more survivable. Whether or not they will is unclear but it seems that at least humanity is freed from the oppressive hierarchy of the train.

The post-apocalyptic elements of the movie were great. I loved when characters referred to cigarettes or bullets as "extinct". It was also disturbing seeing the drastic poverty of the tail section contrasted with the wealth of the front section. But there was also a lot that bored or confused me. I didn't understand why the front section army was not able to easily crush the rebellion especially when SURPRISE bullets aren't actually extinct because of course we need to shoot people in this movie. Also there was this weird thing with a fish.

Despite a lot of weirdness though it was pretty good and I think it was a great take on a new kind of post-apocalyptic world.