The days of Blockbuster and Video Ezy are long gone, and have been replaced by internet streaming. With platforms such as Netflix, and Stan, home viewing has never been easier. In some cases, internet distribution is a preferred method of marketing to worldwide cinema release. An example of one of these cases was the 2014 Korean film, Snowpiercer. Bong Joon Ho’s Snowpiercer was not widely screened, but appeared on the list of suggestions of many Netflix in America and Australia. The film, however, was originally planned for wide release in North America, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa, but was delayed due to Harvey Weinstein requesting that certain footage be edited. Did the platform of release have a big impact on the film’s success? Personally, I believe so. Since its opening, Snowpiercer earned USD $86.8 million, and holds the domestic record for the fastest movie to reach four million admissions.

Another aspect that impacted the box office success and popularity of the film was its international co-production. Snowpiercer was very much marketed and presented as a Hollywood film. With intense fight scenes and stunning visuals, the film was everything an American Blockbuster-head needed. However, at heart, it’s still a Korean film.

The main thing that made it feel like a Korean film was its production value. For example, even though Snowpiercer was classed as a high-budget film in Korea, some of the CGI (especially of the frozen wastelands), was very obviously CGI, in comparison to some of the extremely high-budget blockbusters of Hollywood. (Not saying that Snowpiercer was a bad film because of its CGI. Films can look good but still be bad). The production value of Hollywood is generally much higher than the production value of Korean cinema. By 2014, Snowpiercer was the tenth highest-grossing domestic Korean film. In comparison, the tenth highest-grossing film in America in 2014 was 300: Rise of an Empire. The budget for Snowpiercer was 40 million USD, whereas the budget for 300 was 110 million USD.

Another aspect that made it feel like a Korean film was its action. Generally, the fight scenes in a lot of eastern films are shot in very tight spaces. This can also be seen in Park Chan Wook’s Oldboy, and Gareth Evans’ The Raid. Again, this is reflective of the production values of Asian cinema in general.

One thing that boosted the popularity of Snowpiercer was its diverse cast. The cast was made up of a variety of international actors, from Britain to Hollywood, such as Chris Evans, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, and Tilda Swinton, in an effort to utilise their stardom to attract audiences, and also to fit in with the global crisis theme of the film. Shujen Wang, of Emerson College, and Harvard University, points out that “in recent efforts to diversify the local market in Korea are not without a ‘nationalistic’ influence” (Wang, Shujen. 2010). The main character is played by Chris Evans, who also played Captain America. Even though it was shot prior to Captain America: The First Avenger, the film was strategically released shortly after the success of the Marvel film that made Evans an icon of the Marvel Universe, taking advantage of his new level of fame.

Storywise, Snowpiercer is very much a Korean film, especially in the conclusion of the film. The ending of the film was very open ended, and a bit of a cliff hanger. Hollywood blockbusters, on the other hand, especially those with a less overtly political agenda, “offer a spectacular acting-out of a very simple story of humanity’s salvation in a struggle of good against evil — whether vampires (Blade), viruses (Outbreak), mad science (Jurassic Park), natural disasters (Volcano, Armageddon) or hostile extra-terrestrials (Alien, Species), to mention some usual suspects” (Morris, Meaghan. 2004). In other words, the obvious hero wins or loses, and same goes for the obvious villain. The difference between Hollywood and Eastern Cinema, is that Asian films generally tend to leave the movies very open ended, and leave the audience with a question of morality, which, again, without spoiling, is seen in Oldboy, and also Andrew Lau and Alan Mak’s Infernal Affairs.

Another aspect that tends to show up in many eastern films is the theme of religion. Snowpiercer didn’t have any direct reference to particular religious beliefs in Korea, but instead, it commented on the general idea of having a God. The society portrayed in the film had a religious conviction to its political beliefs. The pre-school scene was very reflective of this, in which the pupils are taught to recite and believe that “the engine is sacred and Wilford is divine”. They’re taught that the train is their only saviour, and that if they were to leave, they’d “all freeze and die”.

The thing about Snowpiercer is that at first glance, it’s very Hollywood, especially in its casting, its dialogue, and cinematography. But when you pay enough attention, it’s very much a Korean film. Firstly, it doesn’t have the hundred-million-dollar budget of a massive Hollywood Blockbuster. Secondly, it tells a story much like a Korean film, in that it leaves the message and meaning very open ended, and it blurs the lines of morality, unlike Hollywood films, which are very black and white in its questions and answers. Snowpiercer also indirectly deals with themes of religion, and comments on the idea of having a God figure.

Snowpiercer is a big cluster of transnationalism, in its themes, visuals, and casting, yet it’s still a Korean film at heart. The idea of implementing various cultural ideas from different nationalities is still young, and there is much to explore, but Boon Jong-Ho’s film is definitely a positive example of it.

 

REFERENCES

Wang, Shujen. (2010). East Asian Cinemas: Exploring Transnational Connections on Film (review). Cinema Journal, 49(3), pp.166.

Morris, Meaghan. (2004). Transnational imagination in action cinema: Hong Kong and the making of a global popular culture. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 5(2), pp.191

 

MOVIES LISTED

Snowpiercer

300: Rise of an Empire

Oldboy

The Raid

Captain America: The First Avenger

Infernal Affairs

 

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