Movie: The Platform (2020)

Covid-19 has shut down all the movie theaters, so my gang of movie buddies have started watching streaming movies and discussing them online. Last night we watched a Spanish movie called "The Platform" on Netflix.

It's a big ass allegory about human society. Our hero wakes up in a cell on the 47th level with an old man. There's a big hole in the middle of the floor and ceiling. Once a day a platform descends covered with leftovers of a feast that has been eaten by the people in the 46 levels above them. Everyone is surviving (or not) on the scraps left over by the people above them. The lower levels bring out the brutality in people. The upper levels induce depression since there is nothing to strive for.

Everyone gets to bring one object. Our hero brought "Don Quixote". The old man brought something ... more useful.

Our hero encounters different people with different approaches to surviving the place. One is bleak and realistic. One is idealistic and hopeful. One is insane with religious fervor. Our hero attempts to send a message to the people who make the meals. It is left to the viewer to decide how quixotic that effort is.

As a big ass allegory, it is big, blunt and very funny if you find humor in how awful people are to each other. It's also painful and bleak. There is a lot of gore and violence. Also panna cotta. If you don't know what that is, it's just a kind of custard. The name is Italian for "cooked cream".

During this pandemic, people are hoarding stuff. They line up early at the grocery stores to buy toilet paper. They are terrified of running out. This sort of selfishness is the core of this movie.

Don't pick at the threads of the mechanics of how the place works - it will unravel quickly. Enjoy the big ass allegory and the style. And only take enough TP to see you through.

ETA: I've seen some reviews describe this as a criticism of capitalism. Let's not be that specific. This is a criticism of humans. The same thing happens under every kind of economic and governmental system humans create.