Murray State University's Cinema International kicks off this semester's lineup of films with Snowpiercer, an a science fiction film putting an alternative spin on the term "post-apocalyptic." The 2013 South Korean film depicts class warfare on a train of the sole survivors of the global ice age created by a failed attempt to stop global warming. On Sounds Good today, MSU Department of English and Philosophy faculty member Andrew Black previews the upcoming season of Cinema International, with a closer look at this week's film, Snowpiercer.
Snowpiercer is a science fiction, apocalyptic film that, according to Andrew, "deserves to be seen on the big screen."
The film, he says, is a different flavor of apocalyptic in it's setting and underlying themes. In this train piercing through a world of snow, there are massive conflicts and fabulous images.
"It's just set on a train," he says. "So, it has all these political elements with the people in the back of the train and the people in the front of the train and who's in charge of the train."
One of the mysteries of the plot is that the passengers in the back of the train are nearly as clueless as viewers are. Their lack of knowledge on what lies in the front of the train renders them powerless. Viewers learn more, however, as the back-end passengers fight their way to the front of the train.
Snowpiercer? will show this Thursday through Saturday in the Curris Center Theatre at 7:30 p.m.
More information on this year's Cinema International lineup of films can be found here.
