Snowpiercer (2013)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2013
	Director: Joon-ho Bong (Memories of Murder, The Host)
	Actors: Chris Evans (Captain America 1-2), Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell (King Kong), Ed Harris (A History of Violence), John Hurt (1984), Kang-ho Song (Memories of Murder, The Host)
	Country: ROK, USA, F, CZ
	Genre: SF
	Conditions of visioning: 23.03.2014, CINEMA theater, MFFFN14
Synopsis: In a world covered by ice, the last survivors of humanity struggle with the established order in a high-speed train.
Review: I have heard some years ago already about this American movie by the Korean director Bong Joon-ho (from whom I loved Memories of Murder), and I bought and read the French graphic novel from which it is inspired (Le Transperceneige). The story of a post-apocalyptic frozen future and the clash of classes in a high-speed train that never stops is interesting although barely believable. I read a review saying that Joon-ho made some choices betraying the original material and more fitting his style, but that overall the movie was good. I rather agree to this. Only key elements of the original material are kept: the train, the revolt going from tail to head, the constructor of the train and the engine, the clash of classes. The characters and the general story are different, but I find that the adaptation of a graphic novel too short for a movie was well done. I feared a too long movie (it does last 2h10) typical of Asian films, but it turned out that the American  production countered effectively the Korean tendencies of the director, delivering in the end a well-balanced movie, including the violence and no-compromise that maybe only a Korean actor could provide. Chris Evans is hard to recognize when he doesn't play a good-looking super-hero (Captain America or The Torch in The Fantastic Four), but he played well. Bong Joon-ho managed to place his favorite Korean actor Kang-ho Song (who doesn't speak English) in this American movie. I thought at first that it was useless, but it actually gives another point of view and a different character for the viewer to identify with.
Rating: 6 /10