Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia’s horror thriller “The Platform” has been a regular feature on Netflix’s daily Top 10 since it hit the streaming service, and no wonder it is a hit: with its generous cannibalism scenes, suicide, starvation, blood, guts and with a really strong, or may be a young “message”, how could it not be a headliner?
“THERE ARE 3 KINDS OF PEOPLE; THE ONES ABOVE, THE ONES BELOW, AND THE ONES WHO FALL…”
A Spanish science fiction horror thriller film, one can define it as the modern man featuring “ANIMAL FARM” with a unique setting, large vertical tower-style of 200 or more stories where each floor has a small room with two inmates, the residents got transmitted randomly between levels, and are getting fed for two minutes a day through a platform, where they get to eat the leftovers of the level before them.
The film is an actual mind trigger one; it is not a feel-good movie, it can take you to thoughts, may be you have never thought of or even think that this could ever happen. You can see it from a Darwin political view or from a communist view or may be a religious view in a way. What about a realistic point of view…
The movie’s main character Goreng, the new comer, who grabbed a book to the prison where others grab different kind of weapons to such a piece of Hell, to defend themselves or kill each other, for food, not to mention that the book was “don Quixote”, the man who fights the wind mills, significant much! He was addressed by another cellmate, “that’s not a place for a book lover” he has enlightenment thoughts that were not very welcomed with other random prison mates, he wanted to talk, have a reasonable conversation with the lower or the upper floors, and as the film goes on, one can see how his character develops and forget all about the conversation, even started to eat the paper of his only book.
He tried his best to keep the good side in him, but when it gets to deliver his message to all the floors in the prison he made his own weapon and he didn’t mind killing others for the sake of delivering food for all the levels, he seeks equality and be fair to all, just to send a message for the management” up there” that all levels can share and be fair to each other. The character development was perfectly framed with the actor’s paced out eye looks and his language that changed through the movie.
Reaching the ending of the movie, it is full of mixed ideas and will definitely leave you full handed with so many things going on in your mind…
If you think it is a fiction, can’t be happening, how can ever be such a jail?
Have a closer look at your daily routine please again nowadays. Kept in home in lockdown quarantine right? going out only for your essential needs, can you see the link now, not yet? check the news, people in the first world countries are fighting over toilet paper, reminded me much about those in level 8 devouring the food in the most grotesque way, never in mind how the people in level 100 are doing…
Shall I mention the panic shopping and how greedy people get when they get scared? Remember that viral video of the lady who was crying by the empty shelves looking for her baby’s diapers and can’t find any…” if everyone ate only what they needed” A line said by Goreng or may I say the new comer of the prison, did you think of that when you saw how each and every one was grabbing whatever on the shelves lately, all over the globe?
Look how countries invade other countries medical supplements essentials because they are just panicking about the pandemic disease in the air, and the countries didn’t get hungry yet… Can you imagine how ugly things can get if there is a lack in food essentials?
To deal with business you have to deal with the inner human being thoughts, isn’t that what HR is about. Watch this movie and read William Golding LORD OF FIES and you can definitely understand how hideous MAN can get when his life is in danger, the possible cut in salaries and letting go of the employees will reveal an ugly face in the next few months… be prepared companies, try to think with your minds not with numbers, economy will be affected that’s for sure, everything can be recapped after this scary coronavirus beast be defeated, but your real weapon is the Human Resources… HUMAN.
Written By: Abir Yassin
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Writers: David Desola, Pedro Rivero
Stars: Ivan Massagué, Zorion Eguileor, Antonia San Juan, Emilio Buale, Alexandra Masangkay
Running Time: 1h 34m
Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller