Films set in a single location can be difficult to pull off, but Bong Joon-ho, South Korean director of The Host, proves that less certainly is more with Snowpiercer, his first (mostly) English language film starring Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton and John Hurt. Set entirely on a train occupied by the last remnants of mankind, Snowpiercer is an example of how excellent production design can transform a movie into something else entirely. It's the effortless combination of production design and Joon-ho's direction which propels Snowpiercer forward from one scene to the next, each compartment of the train representing yet another layer in the socially stratified microcosm humanity's last hope stands for. Each set is refreshing and unique, playfully subverting the usual expectations which tend to come with movies about a dystopian future, while the camerawork makes the most of the enclosed settings leaving no angle untouched. Exhilarating and inventive, Snowpiercer is one of 2014's movie gems.
