Powered by a perpetual-motion engine, the Snowpiercer is more than the most advanced train on Earth: it’s the ONLY train on Earth, traveling the globe carrying the most precious cargo imaginable.
The last remnants of mankind.
Chris Evans leads a cast of heavy-hitters in Bong Joon-ho’s Hollywood debut, a post-apocalyptic movie with a very refreshing take on the genre. Take one Earth, add one Ice Age and one Snowpiercer, mix in a liberal amount of class warfare and epic, devastating vistas, and you have a recipe for a potentially incredible story. Put the chef hat on Bong Joon-ho, and you practically guarantee it.
This guy won me over with his excellent giant monster movie The Host, which did not skimp on great effects and tense moments while delivering a fantastic story. In fact it was during the filming of The Host that Bong Joon-ho discovered the French graphic novel Le Transperceneige, upon which Snowpiercer is based.
I was already planning on catching this movie based on the concept and cast list (Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Alison Pill, John Hurt, Ed Harris, Octavia Spencer) but now that I know who’s directing it, I am actively looking forward to it.
I also strongly suspect the fellow wearing the kid in the above shot is Song Kang-ho from The Host, which is also exciting, as he was a lot of fun. The picture goes a long way towards hinting at what this official film synopsis reveals:
Snowpiercer is set in a future where, after a failed experiment to stop global warming, an Ice Age kills off all life on the planet except for the inhabitants of the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe and is powered by a sacred perpetual-motion engine. A class system evolves on the train but a revolution brews.
Check out the concept art at over at The Film Stage for some powerful scenes, including another, much more luxurious, train car.
I will be watching closely for additional news on Snowpiercer and the trailer drop, and will report here when I spot it!
By the way, just for the heck of it, here is an awesome scene from another Bong Joon-ho movie I can’t wait to see – The Host 2!