Life is about more than just status…
The Platform takes us to a prison where those incarcerated inside are housed in vertically stacked cells watching hungrily as food descends from above. The upper levels are well fed and fat, but the lower it gets the more the food dwindles and the prisoners on the lower levels get ravenous in more ways than one, with everyone switching levels every 30 days.
Our hero who voluntarily confines himself with the promise of social mobility; this “Pit” that he’s subjected himself to is more horrifying then he could have even imagined and that’s The Platform without question. While occasionally familiar, it’s rarely afraid to get severe and dark in ways we rarely see on screen.
Director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia manages something here that is actually easier said than done; he does more with less. Using a minimalist production design, The Platform deftly uses dialogue between its characters to ramp up the tension and keep us on the edge and when the violence gets necessary, it’s downright brutal. It all makes for a vicious blend of social commentary and blood soaked brutality.
At the end of the day, The Platform certainly evokes memories of films like Fortress, Cube & Snowpiercer but what sets this apart of its forerunners is that this film is less about the spectacle and more about the psychological torture of the “Pit” and how we treat our fellow inmates. It’s a reflection of humanity and we all treat one another.
- Release Date: 9/6/2019
