Snowpiercer, 2013
March 17, 2022 | MATTHEW SANCHEZ
In the year 2014, the world attempted to solve global warming by releasing the substance CW-7 into the atmosphere. However, it backfired and wiped out most of the inhabitants on Earth by freezing them to death. All that remains of humanity boarded onto the Snowpiercer, a massive train powered by a self-renewing engine. The story takes place in 2031, 17 years after CW-7 was released. This train is kept with a strict social order where elites live in the extravagant front cars and the lower class inhabit the tail where it is brutal out there.
The main character Curtis Everett(Chris Evans) and his mentor Gilliam lead the people of the tail and together they plan to overthrow the train by taking the engine. Curtis carefully planned his actions and waited for the right time. When it was time, the tail people overpowered the guards and released security expert Namgoong Minsu and his daughter Yona from the prison so that they could open the gates in exchange for Kronole which is a highly inflammable hallucinogen. They begin their journey, one cart at a time. One of the carts revealed how the tail passengers’ food is made. It is cockroaches and Curtis decided it would be best not to tell the people how the food is made. When Namgoong opens one of the carts they are ambushed by a mass of masked men with axes under the order of Mason. A bloody brawl started and in the middle of the fight, they stopped because a new year had started. When the battle concluded Curtis caputres Mason but at the same time sacrifices his second-in-command Edgar.
They travel through many luxurious cars and make it to a classroom, where they learn more about Wilford and his train. While the students were celebrating the new year, the teacher pulled up a gun and started shooting Curtis’ group. They lost a few of their members and ended up killing Mason and the teacher. When this happened. The tail people who remained in the back were all killed and Gilliam was also murdered. Next a group of soldiers led by Franco hunted down Curtis' group and when the night was over only Curtis, Namgoong and his daughter were left alive.
When they made it to the engines gate, Namgoong revealed that he had always planned to use Kronole to make a bomb to destroy the train so that they can live outside because he noticed that the snow was slowly melting and that life could exist outside of the train. Curtis confesses to him his sins that he committed when everyone from murder to cannibalism. He realizes the error of his ways and seeks to confront Wilford about the truth behind his motivations.
When the engine gates open, Wilford's assistant comes out and shoots Namgoong, and invites Curtis inside where he can meet Wilford. Wilford reveals to Curtis that his revolution was actually planned by himself and Gilliam to reduce the population and reinforce the balance of the train’s social system, and he ordered the elimination of 74% of the tail passengers. He explains the importance of using fear and chaos to maintain a necessary order and leadership on the train. Wilford decided to have Curtis be his successor and to continue the cycle of the train. Curtis rejects this offer when he finds out that children from the tail are used to replace parts from the train that had gone extinct. The tail section only serves as a source to replace machinery and thus are like cattle. Curtis sacrifices his arm to save a tail child that was forced to work and Yona ignites the kronole bomb as everyone embraces and the train explodes derailing it and killing almost everyone onboard. Yona and Timmy, the only apparent survivors, come out of the destroyed train and see a polar bear showing the audience that life outside the metal walls is possible.
This film relates to the moral theory of Contractualism by showing Hobbes’ belief that the nature of mankind is war. Throughout the film we are shown nonstop violence of people who want to maintain or gain power over people. Where everyone looks out for themselves and the people at the bottom join together to take out those in power. We are shown the three causes of the quarrel. The first one, competition, made the tail people take the front cars’ stuff and used violence to get their way. The second principle is for safety and distrust, they have this to defend themselves and they rather people having an advantage over their enemy to be safe. The third is for reputation and the front car represents this by oppressing the lower class while boasting about their upper class. There was no choice for any agreement to be made because the people did not want a leviathan and wanted to take over the train.