Two More International Snowpiercer Posters

By Brent McKnight | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

SnowpiercerYesterday it came out that the long, drawn out struggle over director Bong Joon-ho’s English language debut, the post-apocalyptic Snowpiercer, may finally be coming to an end. Nothing is official, but reports say that the argument between the director and The Weinstein Company over a proposed 20-minutes worth of cuts to the film in most English speaking markets, may finally be over. If this is true, hopefully that means we’ll get a release date soon. So we feel like celebrating, and what better way than with a couple of new international posters.

The first poster is another French offering, where the film—based on the French graphic novel La Transerceneige—opened in late October. This is similar to another that was released earlier. While most of the promotion has focused on the inside of the titular train, where the rich and poor survivors of a new ice age come to blows, these give you an idea of what it looks like outside the walls. Snowpiercer takes place in a world where attempts to reverse global warming kick off a worldwide snowpocalypse, and the only people left are on this perpetual motion train, where a rigid class system quickly develops, breeding resentment and ultimately violence.

So far we’ve seen concept art of the world beyond the train, but there have only been quick glimpses of the situation outside. Most of what we’ve seen has been concerned with life inside, which is where the second poster comes into play. Within the metal confines, the wealthy live near the front of the train, in clean, well-lit compartments, with enough food and even schools for their children. In the rear of the 1000 car long train, however, things aren’t nearly as rosy. The residents live in abject squalor, dirty, filthy, and destitute. One man, Curtis (Chris Evans), incites his fellows to rise up and attempt to take the train.

One of the things I hoped for over the course of this back and forth mess over the various cuts of the film, was that, as Snowpiercer opened around the world, it would gather enough rave reviews, and, more importantly, enough money, that TWC would realize that the film can be successful in the intended form. Critics have been throwing around words like masterpiece, and when the film opened in Korea in August, it broke national box office records. In reality, we ever learn why TWC relented—if that is in fact the case. Perhaps it was because of a groundswell of popular support, or maybe they just realized Bong’s version is better—his cut did test much better with audiences.

Whenever Snowpiercer does make it to American theaters, it will bring with it one hell of an international cast. In addition to Evans, the credits include Tilda Swinton, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Ed Harris, Jamie Bell, Ko Ah-sung, Song Kang-ho, Ewen Bremner, Allison Pill, and way more.

Snowpiercer