If
you watch enough movies, you tend to see patterns. You’ll see elements of one movie in
another. It’s easy to compare The
Platform to Cube, but it’s really not the same thing. This isn’t some loose remake of another
movie. I’m not saying it’s entirely
original, but it does stand on its own.
The
Platform follows Goreng as he finds himself in a tall tower. Each floor is a cell shared by two
people. Goreng entered voluntarily,
hoping to earn a degree by the end of his six-month stay. He’s initially paired with Trimagasi, who we
find out accidentally killed someone.
Each
cell has little more than two beds, a sink and a toilet. Each person is allowed one personal item to
help pass the time. (Goreng brings a
book, but it can be anything.) Food is
delivered once a day on a platform that goes from the top floor down. By the time it reaches Goreng and Trimagasi
on level 48, there’s not much left.
Trimagasi is happy for a bottle of wine.
Herein
lies the problem. There’s supposed to be
enough food for everyone, assuming each person takes their share. The catch is that there’s nothing stopping
the first level from taking everything.
In fact, the only condition seems to be that you can’t save anything for
later. You have to eat while the
platform is there. If you hold onto
anything, the temperature either rises or falls to a dangerous level unless you
throw it down to the next level.
People
are reassigned to a new level every 30 days.
People are kept together unless someone has completed their term or they
die. The level assignment seems to be
random. You could kill someone and end
up on a higher level. You could be a
saint and wind up on a lower level.
Trimagasi has been on lower levels and does not like the prospect of
going back.
Even
though everyone has been on a lower level, they’d just as soon shit on you as
help you. (This literally happens in one
scene.) There’s little empathy. There’s also no way to really affect anyone
on the levels above. One could make
threats, but not carry them out. People
only have the hope of attaining a higher level next month.
There
is a disturbing element to the movie.
Several people are killed and in rather gruesome ways. Having to go a month with no food will make
people do crazy things. If you’re at all
squeamish, there will be things that will bother you in this movie. (No, it’s not a good idea to bring a dog as
your personal item.)
Mostly,
it’s commentary. When people have to
share resources, there really is no good answer. If we are told to share, that doesn’t
happen. People without access will have
to go without, and that’s not going to look pretty.
Any
alternative starts to look like socialism and is frowned upon. The intent is to help people, but why should
one person go without for the benefit of another? It’s the perfect example of the tragedy of
the commons. Everyone takes what they
can get.
It’s
also easy to say you would help people, but most wouldn’t. Even when Goreng wakes up on a single-digit
level, he finds he has no control over those above him and little control over
those below him. There’s not much he can
do except threaten those on the level below him to fall in line. Even then, there’s no promise that the
instructions will be followed all the way down.
I
suppose that’s life. Some will
suffer. I think the big question is how
do we treat others? Even knowing what
it’s like to be on the bottom, some people will grab all the money that they
can. I feel that while the movie isn’t
perfect, it does illustrate the dilemma pretty well.
No comments :
Post a Comment