I recently watched The Platform (2019), and the concept of the movie really caught my attention. It makes me think about how people will behave if their survival depends on others. Like you can Imagine being locked inside a prison and the food you eat in there depends on what people above you decide to leave behind. That sounds crazy, right? In this movie, an an unusual situation was used to talk about human nature, how they will act when their survival is at stake, and how they’ll treat one another in the process of survival.
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The movie stars Goreng. He enters a strange facility known as the Pit. It’s a prison that has over a hundred levels, and in each level, 2 people are occupying each floor. So everyday , In the middle of the prison, there’s an opening through which a platform carry food which descend from the top to the bottom. But unfortunately, it’s only those who are on the first floor that enjoy a proper feast and as the platform descends downward, the food gradually disappears. So those people at the lower levels are left with nothing to eat. To make things worse, everyone doesn’t stay on the same flour every-time, they assigned them a new floor every month, So never they never know if they’ll be enjoying plenty of food where they find themselves or struggling to survive in next level.
The idea that they used in this movie reminds me of Snowpiercer movie, where people’s positions is used to determine their access to resources and opportunities around them. I think these two movies explores inequality. But one thing about The Platform was that, it takes the idea into a confined space where everyone has to face the consequences. The situation in the prison make me wonder about how much people care for other people around them when they have everything they need.
Inside the prison, They have different rules, there were strange occurrences, and unexpected situations that makes me to be curious about what will happen next. Like seriously, while watching, I found myself wanting to understand how the facility worked and maybe anyone can somehow find a way to change how things work in there. The things that happen inside there is somehow mysterious to me.
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And again, I must say that I love how the characters in the movie reacted differently to the situations around them. Some were willing to cooperate, while others cared only about themselves. Goreng on the other hand enters the facility with his own reasons, but in the process, his experiences in the prison gradually challenge his understanding about people. His interactions with Trimagasi was also interesting , because it reveal how living in a cruel environment can affect and change someone’s attitude towards survival.
Yeah, I’m also going to talk about the atmosphere in the prison, I think it’s worth talking about. The concrete walls makes them feel cold , no window and that makes them feel cut off from the outside world , the identical rooms at different levels still makes them feel that they are still trapped in the same miserable situation, and the dark surroundings makes them feel hopeless. There’s no beautiful views or anything that will make them feel at home.
Of course, The Platform is not a movie that everyone will love to watch because It contains some kind of disturbing scenes and graphic violence that some people might find it difficult to stomach. However, those moments are also part of what contribute to the dark side of the atmosphere. Their action show how hunger, fear, and desperation can push people to do the unthinkable just to survive.
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In my own view, the movie is connected to real-life situations. Because in our society today, there are people who have more than enough to survive, while other people are struggling to afford for their basic necessities. The movie makes me to question if the only problem is just a lack of resources or maybe selfishness also plays a role in their actions. Because it seems like challenging an unfair system is not really enough when the people trapped inside system have also become part of the problem.
Overall, The Platform is movie that make you thinking about real-life issues, it challenge you on how you see your society. It reflects greed and inequality we see in our society today, and also show human behaviors when they are face with situation that will make them fight for survival.
So, I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys psychological thrillers and survival horror. However, You might want to skip this one, if you feel like you cannot handle uncomfortable and graphic violence scenes.
Images were sourced from IMDb.
Rating: 85/100
