The Platform – Thoughts

Two nights ago I saw that Netflix was recommending that I watch The Platform 2, so I watched The Platform instead. The Platform is a Spanish film that takes place in a pit/prison. Within this prison every cell is stacked vertically and those on the first floor get first dibs on food. Those at the bottom fall victim to the greed of those on the top level. If you have not watched the film yet, stop reading now as I will include spoilers

The Kindness and Greed of Strangers

Imagine that you are in a prison, where well prepared food is put on a platform that descends one level at a time. At each level prisoners grab their fill of food. If they keep food, for example an apple, then their cell will heat, or cool, until they get rid of that food. Hoarding is thus a bad idea.

The Monthly Lottery

You are on the same level for a month at a time. If you are lucky you are near the top and have access to fresh food, but if you are the bottom then you are stuck with the remains of the food that those above did not eat. There are at least 300 levels, and each level has two people.

Empathy and Social Responsibility

One of the topics of this film is empathy and social responsibility. If you are on a lower then you rely on those above having the decency to ration what they eat so that some of it gets to the bottom level. The greedier the top level is, the more people will starve, especially three hundred levels down.

There is also the idea of solidarity. There is enough food for everyone to eat and survive, but those that have been on the lower layers have just spent four weeks or more starving, so when they have plenty, they prefer to gorge themselves. Those at the bottom just want to survive.

Cannibalism For Survival

One of the less pleasant themes is that of cannibalism and there is a discussion about snails and purging. The old guy who is just one month away from release ties up his cell mate and speaks about “I will not eat you for the first seven days, as you purge yourself like a snail.

The image is gruesome and unpleasant, and this film is not one to be watched by people who do not watch such films. The old man is eventually killed by the woman who rides down the platform, but more on that later.

The theme of cannibalism returns two or three times

Suicide and Murder

In such an unhealthy prison suicide and murder are ever present. In one case the woman that had interviewed people before they were locked up finds herself in the prison and the ideals that she had about this prison turn out to be false illusions. The reality is more about survival than morality.

When she wakes on level 199 she commits suicide and it is implied that it is so that he can eat her rather than starve but we learn this through dreams that also play a role.

At level 199 we hear the cries of despair as people wake up and realise how deep they are in the pit of despair.

Riding Down on The Platform

At least three characters ride down on the platform. The main character, the woman searching for her child, and another. I forgot the names of the characters, or else I would give them.

The woman is riding down on the platform because she is searching for her child every month. I don’t know how she gets up and survives month after month.

The two other characters decide, when they are on level 8 or so that they will ride down to the bottom to bring food to all prisoners. In the process they need to keep the food from being eaten with violence.

Eventually they realise, after a conversation that they need to keep one dish intact to send back to the surface so they protect that meal with violence, and give food to those from level 50 and beneath.

Eventually they get down to level 330 or so and realise that the child really was down there, and they’re stuck with a conundrum. Do they give the child the meal, but fail in their goal, or do they send the child back up.

Eventually they realise that the child is the message so they send the child back up, alone. The aim is that as those that prepare the food realise that a child was in the pit, they will rethink the prison system.

And Finally

This is not a horror film but rather a cerebral film that encourages us to think about societal questions. We assume, but do not know if the main character survives prison or dies. We know that the girl is sent back up on the platform but we don’t really know what happened, until we begin to watch The Platform 2, which I have not watched yet.