A violent, disturbing thriller.
Plot
The film presents a unique parable about modern society. The plot is based on a simple and ingenious premise – the main character Goreng wakes up in a concrete room. In the center of the floor/ceiling are large rectangular openings through which he sees identical rooms stretching up and down through countless floors.
There are two people in a small room with beds and a washbasin. Goreng’s only companion is Trimagashi, a grinning, cruel old man who explains the events that are taking place.
An elevator with a table on a special fixture covered with food is provided daily to the 1st floor. The inhabitants of the 1st tier are saturated with food and it falls to the 2nd, the lower ones eat their fill, and the platform descends again, and no one knows exactly the number of existing spans located in the well. Neighbors on the site eat what the previous ones leave.
Goreng is at level 48, but the man is far from down.
The meaning of the film
Halder Gastel-Urrutia’s fantasy thriller The Platform attempts to embrace a broad social metaphor:
- If each of the people ate only what they need, there would be enough food for each prisoner, but no one does. Residents are sent to a new place every month, and they can only feast for 30 days, and the next – starve.
- Since the prisoners have a short memory, those who suddenly find themselves in an elated state begin to fill up, making up for their previous hunger, complaining about the “bastards” who left them with nothing, but they do exactly the same.
- This means that a person will never blame themselves for social dysfunction, shifting the blame to those above and below, accepting too much, or expecting mercy they will never give.
The tape highlights the information in each frame, where the people in the tower are a mixture of prisoners and volunteers for the experiment, signed for the promise of a reward when (or if) they are released.
The episodes, which begin with the preparation of a variety of dishes, introduce viewers to the chic cuisine, carefully preparing a feast, where a buffet of delicacies is an impeccable work of art.
When the inhabitants pounce on food, popping it into their mouths without stopping to savor the taste, it’s enough to ruin the average person’s appetite for weeks.
As we are often reminded, the food elevator comes down every day. Those at the top never go hungry, but eat like primitives because they can.
Characteristics of heroes
The director gives hints about the history of the characters without really talking about them.
There is more detailed information about Goreng, but even his biography is scarce. It is known that he volunteered to come here for a completely absurd and trivial reason – a reward. But the viewer recognizes his character by his actions and actions.
The character is kind, naive, and perhaps too trusting. Seeing a silent woman descending the platform tower, he believes the story that she is looking for a lost child and wishes to help. His attempts are the driving force of the film, especially the moment where the man tries to force the community to consume what they need while providing food for the rest.
The rule that any prisoner is allowed to bring an object with him gives a short description of the characteristics of the characters, even if they appear in the frame for a second. Many bring weapons, Goreng, obviously an optimist, brings a book, a lonely woman takes her beloved dog, one brings, oddly enough, a surfboard. These items reveal little, but make a tower filled with heroes, people with lives and thoughts.
Conclusion
All this is shown as if it has a completely nihilistic view of humanity, but there is hope in the atmosphere of the plot. As the tape draws to a close, there is optimism that people will eventually try to help fellow tribesmen, even strangers.
Released at a time when the world is in turmoil and humanity’s empathy for each other is constantly being tested, the film offers a fantastic look at things that can go wrong, but also a small, long-awaited certainty that things can eventually work out. change.
