Snowpiercer (2013) Sci-Fi

Snowpiercer (2013) - From writer / director Joon-ho Bong who is known for The Host (2006) and Mother (2009); he is a writer and director who has proved to have chops.  Watching this film at the Brattle Theater in historic Harvard Square this viewer was involved but tepid in losing himself in the film. It could be the two teen boy sitting behind me who could not help but to comment each time something stretching the bounds of logic happened on screen. It could have been the way Joon-ho Bong keeps the audience off kilter by mixing violence with bits of humor. It could have been the inevitability of the story. It gives viewers an allegory attempting a big message of class struggle with violence and humor underwhelms in the end. Snowpiercer comes four years after his last film, so plenty of time has been spent getting this film together. The futuristic fantasy of the poor rising up to fight free of their allotted station in life seems a well worn track. Working for the first time with English speaking actors, and partnering with the Harvey Weinstein Company for US distribution this was a new experience for Joon-ho Bong and he has gone out of his way in interviews to say that the cut the American audiences are seeing is the one he wants them to see.
 Ed Harris) who created a track around the world in which it takes one year to complete a loop. Seen as crazy at the time of its building this self perpetuating, self contained ecosystem would end up being the last salvation for mankind. When the nations of the world attempt to cool the atmosphere with a revolutionary chemical. A way to fight global warming not through elimination of its causes but through new science, they accidentally freeze the planet. All life becomes extinct except for the travelers on the Snowpiercer. The wealthy who could afford the ticket live in luxury in the front of the train and the last refugees of the great freeze who fought their way onto the rear live in poverty. Bashing the audience over the head with the classes could be scene as overkill or is the director just creating the contrast needed to give the audience stakes?
In a future world there exists a train Snowpiercer, the vision of Wilford (
 Starring Chris Evan as Curtis, a reluctant revolutionary with a dark past who is mentored to leadership by Gilliam (John Hurt) too old to lead himself but not too old to move a younger man forward. Living at the rear of the train, the Snowpiercer, they are the lowest of the low. A caste who survive on protein bars (What are those bars made from?) and are subjugated to humiliations by the security forces. They are told all people have their lot in life and their lot is poverty in the last couple cars of this self contained ecosystem endlessly traversing the world. They are ruthlessly dealt with if they step out of line like when their children are taken never to be seen again. They are just the people who have to rise up and overthrow the order of things. Along the way though is an amazingly violent and trippy adventure through the train. Thinking about the setup as an allegory of how the wealthiest of the world want to secure their place by perpetually keeping the rest of us down seems the obvious idea. Controlling the security forces, the media, the food and water puts the poor in a place where they feel powerless to change things. It is the need for that change in the hearts of the characters on those last cars that drive the story. The cynical twist at the end was expected considering the structure of this film but it is the journey to the front of the train where the real value of this film lies.
  It seemed that there are nods to other films in this movie. It could be that the archetype of the story brings these thoughts, but the visual similarities and class absurdity seems like more than coincidence  The class struggle has been done before and there seems to be an amazing nod to one of this writers favorite film "Brazil". Not only is the wise man Gilliam named possibly for Terry Gilliam writer/director of that film but the comical portrayal of Tilda Swinton as Mason seems to be channeling the energy of Gilliam's work. As we traverse the train through violence and mayhem we are thrown for a loop as suddenly the dirty revolutionaries come face to face with the opulence of the upper classes. Particularly noteworthy is the scene in the school car where the children of the wealthy are indoctrinated into the cult of Wilford. From the lessons to the patriotic songs lead beautifully by Teacher (Alison Pill) to the hilarious propaganda video, to the sudden stupendous turn to violence, it all seeps with the influence of Brazil.
  The juxtaposition between the scenes of violent struggle and the lavish world of the upper classes is one of the strengths of the film. Designed to have the viewer easily side with the poor and Curtis with his desire to have his revolution reach the engine car, where all other attempts have failed. It does just that with brutal opposition all the way. Complicating the picture is the need for the key master, the man who designed many of the doors and locks, Namgoong Minsoo (Kang-ho Song). He has become a drug addict and can be bribed to get the revolutionaries into each car on their way to the front. He secretly has his own agenda for himself and his companion Yona (Ah-sung Ko) that is not revealed until the climax of the film. "The Matrix" feel at times is a bit overwhelming especially when they reach the engine room and we have the all too flat Ed Harris as Wilford talking things out with Curtis. Seems just like the scene where Neo meets the Architect and is cajoled to make a deal with the devil so to speak. Sometimes the best laid plans can go wrong because of the personal desires of just one of the players. Is it a good thing or should we expect such things.
  It is a singular mission that the poor have, too reach the engine room, to change the order of things. The influence and power of the ruling class first use force and then use bribery and if that does not work will again use force is a known technique through the history of class struggle. The end of this film like Ed Harris's performance is something that I could not understand completely. Flat and affect-less it is a disappointment after sharing the struggle that came before it. The final scenes are probably the most fantastical and meaningless of the entire film. A shame to have been barreling forward, full throttle on this ride only to have it come to the screeching halt it did. Having discussed the ending with others I could not come up with what would have been a better ending, simply because the plot sort of paints itself into a corner. The last image though was pretty ridiculous and off putting. I guess that this film is a recommend. There is something interesting and inventive on the journey this film takes the viewer on. It can't be a strong recommendation with that ending but still there is some value in the trip.

Howling (2012) - Crime Thriller

Howling (2012) - This South Korean crime thriller drew me in with its name, and although it was not the movie I was hoping for it was surprising. It is one part crime thriller and one part police inner office baseball that ultimately delivers. Everything thing does not turn out as you might expect and some of the film situations will push buttons viewers from the west. In its own way though it is a journey that is not looking for a perfect ending.
 Detective Sang-gil (Kang-ho Song) like many in his office is vying for a promotion. The interactions we witness lead us to believe that getting moved to higher ranking jobs is not an easy thing. Since the force works heavily in teams individual accolades are hard to come by and often success means sharing the benefits while failure is often owned individually. So Sang-gil is not happy when investigating a strange murder, where a man burned to death in his car, gets the news that he will be having a new detective starting with him that day. Detective Eun-Young (Na-yeong Lee) has just been moved off patrol and into the office. Sang-gil does not want to be baby sitting a newbie and worst yet she is a woman. This fact will be one of the two prominent features in the film. Eun-Young is one of the few women ever to get into the detective ranks and she wants to stay there. She wants to be accepted and do her job but the way Sang-gil is trying to solve the case without help is only going to hurt her chances. On the other hand she will not go around him and because of her inexperience needs him to help her through the case.

  The sexism by the police officers around Eun-Young is pretty extreme to American liberal sensibilities. She gets it from every guy she interacts with, Sang-gil tells her to go home that there is nothing she will be able to do to help his investigation. She will just get in the way and he does not want her around. The detectives in the office make sexual jokes to Sang-gil about whether he has been fucking her after just the one afternoon of work. Not only that but Eun-Young is right there in the room and they ignore her and speak freely like she does not exist. It must be a cultural thing but the way she just accepted the abuse and then later apologized to Sang-gil for everything was very hard to watch. They assign he busy work, tell her she needs to do whatever they want and suggest that she would make a good bed mate.
  This theme of the story goes all the way through the story. There is some story arc for Sang-gil where he eventually speaks up for her, defending her against the continuous onslaught of the other cops but it is unclear if this is any better. Where it seems she refuses to defend herself, having a male defender only continues the idea that she is not fit to be a cop. She never gets empowered as an individual within the group. Yes she does do some decent detective work which at least in the eyes of Sang-gil improves her standing but she also continues to make rookie mistakes. When it is brought up that she should be transferred back to patrol, Sang-gil defends her but since she never defends herself her fate in inevitable.
  The other track of the film is the case itself, Sang-gil and Eun-Young are lucky in the case falls right into their hands. What at first looks like a simple case of a man accidentally burned to death in his car turns out to be a murder and more. How the script handles this is to have the smallest thing become important. So since the lead cops are assigned the cleanup work that work becomes important. The man in the car for example did not catch fire lighting a cigarette as first thought. No the coroner find that his belt buckle was a little igniting bomb timer with an substance on his belt burned him fast. Not only that but the guy had bite marks on his body, and a drug in his system that is new on the market. So our two main characters have leads to track down from this seemingly simple case. Now it would be proper in this organization to share this new information with the detective team, but Sang-gil wanting that promotion keeps things to himself and delays his final report so he and Eun-Young can investigate themselves.
  This pattern continues with each small thing ending up being more important then initially thought. The pair seek out the drug dealer for this unique drug and in finding his hideout also find a underground prostitution ring focusing in young girls. They do not find the drug dealer though and the audience sees him killed by what appears to be a wolf. The killing connects the drug dealer to his hideout thus allowing the Captain into discovering that the pair has been holding back information. They are scolded harshly for not being team players, then sent to the simplest of tasks while the team investigates the prostitution ring. They are to look for the dog / wolf who killed the drug dealer. This leads to a breeder that shares information about wolf dog half breeds and a photo of the drug dealer, the man in the fire and two other men. This new lead gets Sang-gil and Eun-Young working the case and again Sang-gil wants to go it alone while his partner tries to get him to share information.
  Eventually the plot is fully revealed, and it really takes a wild trail of small clues before we get the entire story. The wolfdog cub was taken by a former police dog trainer, who has trained it to kill. Why do you ask? Well the child sex ring is run by the director of a children's organization. He has decided that since the two death's of his partners he is going to eliminate anyone who knows about his misdeeds. At the same time we learn that the cop had his daughter taken and abused in this sex ring and has trained the wolfdog to get revenge. All of this is really well put together crime thriller with the cops learning the parts one at a time. Then the film unfiortunately goes off the rails.
  In a strange turn Eun-Young feels a connection to the wolfdog, part spiritual and definitely not well done. She shares a moment or two with the beast, so that the climax is based on the wolfdog. In what can only be termed a stretch the police hope to lure the wolfdog out and kill it by hanging some of the little girls clothes in a tree near where the excop trainer and his daughter lived with it. Remarkably the wolfdog shows and Eun-Young saves it from being shot and starts a chase/follow scene as the dog leads the two partners to the hideout of the director bad guy.WTF! There is even slow motion dog running down highway shots that you have to see to believe. Then all that is left to do is have the two cops deal with the remaining bad guys and take another berating for not following procedure.
  The movie which overall was not a bad commentary on sexism in Korea really fails at the end. Unlike what you would expect in a Hollywood film, Eun-Young is not proven to fit in and is sent back to patrol. Sang-gil gets the promotion he wants but then does nothing for the partner that helped him move up. It really takes a bite although maybe a realistic one into the story arc. The strangeness of the wolfdog stuff also really harmed the recommendation I am giving this film. In the end it passes but only because of the social commentary.
Rating (5.1) 5.0 and up are recommended, some more than others.

Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) - Horror

Thirst (Bakjwi) (2009) - This South Korean film is about a priest who participates in medical experiments where most of the participants die. He lives though with the side effects that he has become a vampire. To stave off boils and other physical ills he must drink human blood regularly. Priest Sang-hyeon (Kang-ho Song) struggles with the moral consequences of his affliction. He attempts not to kill but instead to feed off coma victims in a hospital ward he volunteers at. Things are complicated further by the fact that the vamperism seems to increase his desire to sin. He finds himself lusting after the wife of a sick man. She is Tae-ju (Ok-bin Kim) and she is trapped in what she portrays as an abusive relationship with an over bearing Mother in Law (Hae-sook Kim) watching her every step. She says she is trapped and she sees the priest as a way out of the marriage. Sang-hyeon after realizing that it is too hard to follow God and his lustful ways leaves the priesthood and with the help of Tae-ju kills her husband Kang-woo (Ha-kyun Shin). Guilt is a terrible companion though and soon Sang-hyeon can not tolerate the life he has chosen and the acts he has committed. He is further driven with the knowledge that Tae-ju was never abused and lied to get his help out of her situation. He then makes a decision and executes a climactic plan that is worth the wait. Not to spoil it here it is a very in character approach for the former priest.

Rating (6.9)