Movies Mayberry Movie Club Week 5: The Platform (2019)

[Cubo de Sangre]

For week #5 the club selected The Platform (2019).

Premise: A vertical prison with one cell per level. Two people per cell. Only one food platform and two minutes per day to feed. An endless nightmare trapped in The Hole.

Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urritia

Starring: Ivan Massagué

Trivia:
(via IMDB)​

• According to Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia, the two prisoners sitting naked in a bath tub are the script writers, David Desola and Pedro Rivero.
  
• The movie establishes 6 meters (more or less 20 feet) height per level. Since that is revealed at the end of the movie that The Pit has 333 levels, it's 1,998 meters (6,660 feet) deep. Including level 0 and final basement after level 333 (a space in black about three levels height), The Pit is 2,022 meters (6,740 feet) deep.
  
• Since there are 333 cell levels and there are 2 prisoners in every cell, the total number of prisoners is 666. So the prison is basically hell itself.
  
• The last level is 333. According to numerology, 333 signifies answered prayers, a message from a guardian angel, or an ascended master.
  
• Goreng is like a Christ figure in some respects, and Miharu's child at the end (as "the message") is the Holy Spirit.
  
• The protagonist is named Goreng; goreng means "fried" in Indonesian/Malay, giving even further clues into where he is: in hell.
  
• In the Kabbalah and in Thelema, the number 333 is associated with a demon named Choronzon and its name first appeared in the Enochian magick writings of John Dee during the 16th century. Known also as "the dweller in the Abyss," he is believed to be the last great obstacle between an adept and enlightenment and it is said that if he is met with proper preparation, then his function is to destroy the ego, which allows the adept to move beyond the abyss of occult cosmology. This process is very similar to what occurs in the film.

Spoiler: Weeks 1-4

1: Rampage (2009)
2: Creep (2014)
3: Victoria (2015)
4: The House of the Devil (2009)

Members: @the ambush @Cubo de Sangre @Dirt Road Soldier @MusterX @sickc0d3r @Tufts @Zer @newjerseynick

Honorary tags: @chickenluver @JayPettryMMA @europe1 @the muntjac @HenryFlower

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

This is a great movie that's hard to watch. Mandatory viewing for anyone who fancies themselves a fan of cinema.

It shines a light on the worst aspects of human nature, while depicting our redeeming qualities' efforts to overcome the sinful. Outside of the elaborate meals and decorative carnage wrought by the recently engorged, the visuals are empty and drab. No props to clutter up the desolation or take your focus from the message.

What's the message? Could be interpreted different ways. Is it the panna cotta or the child? The former being the symbol of solidarity that would break the chain of gluttonous consumption. The latter being a reminder of the humanity that I believe is the force most powerful. What's more compelling than an innocent child?

Everything about this film I found powerful. It was elegant in its simplicity and shocking in its brutality. We see murder, cannibalism, spitting in the next man's food, and literal shitting in the guy's face below. Some justified out of self-preservation. Some just because they could. This all seems to be a commentary on class distinctions in society, and perhaps a plea for socialism. If so that's fine, but I'm more interested in the human nature aspects than extracting political lessons.

The ending is open to interpretation and mine is this. Our main character imagined the child in response to the futility of his actions and impending death. The child did not return to the top, but the panna cotta did. And that's the scene we see earlier in the film when the head chef was trying to identify who left a hair in it. Rather than see the dessert's return as some great triumph of solidarity, he took it as rejection of the imperfect. A spectacular failure of this two-man revolution. Back to business as usual after firing the cocksucker who can't work a hairnet.

 

[Tufts]

The movie establishes 6 meters (more or less 20 feet) height per level. Since that is revealed at the end of the movie that The Pit has 333 levels, it's 1,998 meters (6,660 feet) deep. Including level 0 and final basement after level 333 (a space in black about three levels height), The Pit is 2,022 meters (6,740 feet) deep.

An average ten-story building is apparently 33 meters, so this would be a 610 story building. The current building in the world with most stories is Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, with 163 floors and is 828 meters tall. That averages closer to 6 meters a story. Gotta figure it has a tall ass lobby though....



This is the random shit that fascinates me. Plus it is shiny!

 

[Tufts]

Back to business as usual after firing the cocksucker who can't work a hairnet.

Firing him or re-homing him? Say in a pit?

 

[Tufts]

I have so much to say, I am going to have to pace myself.....like a person with limited rations....

First the name of the film. In Spanish, it is called El Hoyo. Bear with me here.
Google translate of El Hoyo = The hole
Google translate of The Hole = El agujero

There is not a single word in English that produces hoyo as the first Spanish option. That means it is a multi-faceted word in Spanish with no clear English equivalent. To me, the closest to it is a pit. But a pit feels rough, unfinished to me. EL hoyo was clearly well lit. I find it interesting though, that the original name of the film references the actual hole in the ground, whereas the English references the mechanism by which they are fed. Makes me wonder, how does this change the experience of the viewer.
When I started to watch, I was thinking of the hole itself. English speakers may have been wondering about the platform and its function. I love this type of language play. I would love to have heard the discussion that was had when the film was named in English. What were other options? Makes me wonder what it was named in other languages? In the film itself, they refer to the hoyo as the hole, never the pit, Agujeros are small in nature, it is a dimple in the sand. And hoyuelo is the diminutive of an hoyo, and is actually a dimple on your face.

There's your Spanish lesson of the day! What can I say It was...

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I have so much to say, I am going to have to pace myself.....like a person with limited rations....

First the name of the film. In Spanish, it is called El Hoyo. Bear with me here.
Google translate of El Hoyo = The hole
Google translate of The Hole = El agujero

There is not a single word in English that produces hoyo as the first Spanish option. That means it is a multi-faceted word in Spanish with no clear English equivalent. To me, the closest to it is a pit. But a pit feels rough, unfinished to me. EL hoy was clearly well bit. I find it interesting though, that the original name of the film references the actual hole in the ground, whereas the English references the mechanism by which they are fed. Makes me wonder, how does this change the experience of the viewer.
When I started to watch, I was thinking of the hole itself. English speakers were wondering about the platform and its function. I love this type of language play. I would love to have heard the discussion that was had when the film was named in English. What were other options? In the film itself, they refer to the hoyo as the hole, never the pit, Agujeros are small in nature, it is a dimple in the sand. And hoyuelo is the diminutive of an hoyo, and is actually a dimple.

There's your Spanish lesson of the day! What can I say It was...

In English I think The Platform is a better name. The Hole or The Pit have crass or undesirable connotations. The Platform sounds more refined and even mysterious by comparison. Also, the platform itself is more significant to the story than whether the prisoners are housed below or above ground. So yeah, great choice on the name change for English.

 

[Tufts]

Part 1 - Intro / More Langauge Fun / and a lil' Onomatology

This movie is beyond chock full of symbolism. It starts with a heavenly light as we see the head-chef walking around a bustling kitchen full of workers preparing a feast. In between the delicious fancy foods, we see some raw pig heads and some cooked skinned goat heads that look pretty gross. A little foreshadowing perhaps. Or a reminder that some foods in their raw form are pretty gross. The colors of the food are vibrant. Cruelly, this probably makes the viewer hungry, and God forbid they go get a snack to munch on while watching. Violin music accompanies the mood and sets an elegant, refined, and certainly civilized tone.

We next learn that there are three types of people. Here, again, I take issue with the translation.

o Los de arriba (the top) - I would translate this as those above

o Los de abajo (the bottom) - those below

o Los que caen (and those that fall) - this one I find no fault with.

My translation ties into the themes of the movie better in my opinion. The subtitles weirdly are actually less literal and less thematically and contextually accurate.

A minute on names. My intent is to call them by the first letter of each moving forward, as they are not words I am familiar with and this will speed me up. As we all know, I have a problem being verbose.

None of the names we hear are the real names of the characters. Instead, we learn at the beginning that they are literally assigned to them by the mysterious folks in charge of the vertical prison. This immediately takes away from the individuality and the humanity of each character.

Goreng (G) - our main protagonist - according to the article I sourced (https://depor.com/off-side/el-hoyo-...rm-estados-unidos-nnda-nnlt-noticia/?ref=depr) this is the word for fried food in the language spoken by the Noongar, an indigenous group in Australia.

Trimagasi (T) - the original roommate - this is the combination of Terima + Kashi, which means gratitude in Malaysian.

Imoguiri (IMO) - The administrator that joins G with her dog on level 33. This is both the name of a cemetery in Indonesia and derived from Himagiri, the Sandscript word for mountain of snow, that references a temple for that woman. Here on big Island she would be Mauna Kea! In a way she is somewhat of a pure character. I mean she brought her dog! Need I say more. She also confesses she had no idea what was going on below, and feels remorse. In the end, she sacrifices herself so that G does not have to kill her. She makes every effort to change the dynamics of the platform with kindness. And she never gives up. It is only when G threatens to shit on those below that change is effected. It was a very real moment when she said, now we work on those above us, and G brings her back to reality by saying it won't work coz I can't shit upwards.

Or can he?

Baharat (B) - the last roommate of African origin. The word means spices in Arabic. His name represents the mixture of spices in Turkish, Greek, and MIddle Eastern foods. Specifically ginger, chicken, veal, black pepper, cloves, cilantro, nutmeg, cumin and saffron.

Miharu (M) - the insane lady that rode the platforms searching for a non-existent child. Here is another language curiosity. Her child was referred to in the masculine as hijo the entire movie. In English, the gender-neutral word child was used. In the end, we find out that she was childless, as IMO tells us that she has only been in the prison 10 months and she did not bring a child with her. The prison only allows children above the age of 16. In the end, the child found is a girl. I personally believe she did not exist. Miharu is the name of the Hindu caste system of Varna. It is also a Japanese feminine name.

These names are all very unique. In fact, googling Imoguiri and Trimagasi only yields references to E hoyo. Why were these names assigned? They are not easy to remember. Does each prisoner have a unique name? Have there been so many prisoners they are super short on names? ¡Obvio! these names have zero to do with Spain.

 

[Tufts]

¡OBVIO!

It's a cognate. I'm not gonna translate it.

Coz, it is obvio.

I was surprised to learn it was only said 26 times in the movie. I lost count after ten coz I couldn't keep up while taking notes.

There was so much logic in this movie. Here is an example in the dialogue:

• Qué vamos a comer - What are we going to eat?
• Lo que sobra de los de arriba - What is left from those above us
• Quiénes son los de arriba - Who are those above us?
• Los del nivel 47. Obvio - The one on level 47. Obvio.

A lot of the social commentary is also obvious in nature.

• Los de arriba no le contestaran. - Those above us won't answer
• Por qué - Why?
• Porque están arriba. Obvio. - Because they are above. Obvio.

Another...

• No tengo hambre. - I'm not hungry.
• Ya la tendrá. - You will be.
• Musulmanes y abtsemios. No es normal que el alcohol llegue tan abajo. - Muslims and teetotalers. It isn't normal for alcohol to make it this far down.
• (Chugs wine and drops it.) Por qué? - Why?
• Para que se lo tomen los de abajo. - So that those below can drink it.

It is interesting to watch G go from being completely grossed out, to eventually picking at his food, to eating more heartily, to finally spitting on it in a show of comradery with T. It is a microcosm of the social dynamic that runs the prison. Cruelty and disdain are learned. In the meet-cute first thirty days of their relationship, G and T go from being politely distant, to eventually doing naked simultaneous yoga. It is one of the few light-hearted moments that helps take the sting out of our hero spiting on the food.

T spouts a lot of wisdom. I was struck by the following exchange:

• (Something falls) Was that a person?
• Yes. Above you can eat all you want. But then you have nothing to wait for, and a lot of time to think.

It is for this reason that T says the middle levels are the best. You look forward to finding something worth eating, and this gives you hope. It gives you a reason to look forward to the next day. Some of the unhappiest people I know are ridiculously wealthy. Money can buy you a boat and a truck to pull it with, but not necessarily long-term happiness. It is my firm belief we all need a purpose. Consumerism fills your pockets, but not your heart. There is that level where it provides security and joy, and edible food, but once you are past that.....

T is also a realist. When G first arrives, he tries to engage those who live above to get them to ration the food. T accuses him of being a communist and tells him they won't listen to a communist. When G attempts to speak to those below, T cockblocks him and pees on them while yelling: There is your wine assholes. This is such a perfect snapshot of humanity. Ignored by those above, so you piss on those below. It is tit for tat, yet again. I was also hugely entertained by the shot of pee and G through T's legs.

There is more to say, as T continues to haunt G after his death. His death is warranted, as he asked G if he wanted to keep M when she first appeared on their platform. When G wanted to help her upon being attacked on level 47, M remembered it, and tit for tat, came back and saved him from being cannibalized more than he was. T becomes an angel or a devil on G's shoulder, constantly trying to influence his behavior. It is fitting that they are in the final scene together.

Last thought for the night is the Samurai Max situation. How fitting is it that this is what pushed T over the edge in life. He was promised happiness when he purchased a knife sharpener, so he spent the money. Then he learned, from the exact same people who advertised the first item, that what he had purchased was obsolete, as now there was a self-sharpening knife by the same name as the original sharpener. He throws his TV out the window in frustration, and it kills an illegal immigrant, whose death is negated by T because he had no right to be outside his window in the first place. In T we see this constant battle of what he considers to be fair. This is obvio when he freaks out over G being promised an official diploma for doing time in el hoyo. What about my diploma he fumes....



Kidding - One last thing. The characters use the formal form of Usted in the entire movie. I find this very interesting as you would often use that when you first meet someone but then would switch to the informal tú form once you know them. These folks are equals, so it is weird they never switch. It adds a strange level of formality to the dialogues that is missing in English.
The other thing of interest in the relationship is that T establishes that everything is transactional. It tires him to speak. He only speaks when he receives something in return. I was amused when G used the information that the light had changed as currency to find out why T was in the cell in the first place. Right before they are drugged for a level change, T admits he believes in God that day. We find out it is because he knows he will have food if he winds up in a lower level with G the following day.

 

[Tufts]

Spoiler: OBVIO

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Figure I'll throw out some random questions & criticisms.

• How does it make sense that this place houses volunteers with violent prisoners?
• Why were women housed with men?
• What did the volunteers think they were getting into?
• Could there have been no public awareness of what was taking place? That would seem to mean nobody ever left. And if that were the case then wouldn't that get noticed?
• How did Baharat not fall all the way down the hole after getting shat on? Seems contrary to physics that he'd land on the edge like that.
• Where was Imoguiri's dog shittin' and pissin'?
• Not even gonna ask how the platform operated because it was cool.
• If this is supposed to be a pro-Socialism (or whatever) film it leaves out a key concept. In real life it takes people to contribute to production and not everyone contributes the same. Reward isn't just randomly occurring based solely on (seemingly) blind luck.
• Why didn't the dudes at the bottom always ride the platform back up? If they did, what happened to them?
• What's the significance with Goreng choosing snails for his favorite meal and Trimagasi purging him and calling him his snail?

 

[Tufts]

Figure I'll throw out some random questions & criticisms.

• How does it make sense that this place houses volunteers with violent prisoners?
• Why were women housed with men?

• What did the volunteers think they were getting into?
• Could there have been no public awareness of what was taking place? That would seem to mean nobody ever left. And if that were the case then wouldn't that get noticed?

There is a lot in this film that is simply not explained, it just is. Most likely, coz it is inexplicable so you have to give in to suspension of disbelief to go on the journey. You would think that at one point only violent prisoners would remain. You would also think these same dicks would rape and brutalize the women. Miharu was a particularly tough broad. We saw her fight off the two dudes on 49 early in the movie. But even she eventually gets killed. The 16-year-olds would all be screwed too. Fortunately, we never saw any of them. We did see very elderly people and one guy in a wheelchair. How did they make it? It seems like everyone would have to resort to cannibalism to survive. I had not thought about the logic behind nobody must make it out, or there would be outside knowledge of it. To me it all feels like a giant social experiment run by a bunch of sadists using prisoners and volunteers who are being offered official degrees.

How did Baharat not fall all the way down the hole after getting shat on? Seems contrary to physics that he'd land on the edge like that.

• Where was Imoguiri's dog shittin' and pissin'?

Scatological questions. My favourite.

I thought that G grabbed him as he fell.... Not sure though. Maybe the rope was swinging and momentum pushed him to the side. Not sure about the pup, we also never saw a toilet, I don't think.

• Why didn't the dudes at the bottom always ride the platform back up? If they did, what happened to them?
• What's the significance with Goreng choosing snails for his favorite meal and Trimagasi purging him and calling him his snail?

That is a good question. Based on how fast it flew up, not sure what the g-force would do to them. And if it screeched to a halt at the top, wouldn't they fly into the roof and die?

The snail thing brings a few things to mind.

• It represents a food often consumed by the upper class. When G chooses it as his dish, we can deduce he has champaign, or should I say cava, taste. So it could represent gluttony and excess.
• As a creature, it is about as insignificant as you can get. Easy to squish. Often seen as gross. So it could symbolize the absolute low station of life the humans are living in. They are week and easily susceptible to death. G certainly has the power of a snail when he wakes up all bound up. Then he becomes food for T, so he literally is T's little snail.
• Third, it is a creature that must be purged before it is consumed. You have to do the same thing with clams, oysters and mussels. When T decides to eat G, he also purges him. Only instead of pooping for days without eating in a tank, poor G poops and pees in his sheets. It was a darkly humorous moment when T checked under the sheets to see if he was done purging his bowels and bladder.

 

[Tufts]

This post is dedicated to our conspiracy theorist extraordinaire @MusterX

These are the numbers where T lived during his stay in the hoyo:
72, 26, 78, 43, 11, 79, 32, 8, 132, 48 (with G at start of film), 171 (where he dies)
G continues on to:
33 (with IMO), 202 (where IMO dies), 6 (with B)

In case there is something special about the numbers. @Cubo de Sangre already brought up the 333 floors and 666 prisoners.

Also, what happens to the bodies after they fall? I did not see any splatter or staining on the floors?

 

[Tufts]

A note on apples.....

They typically represent temptation. G pockets one during the first meal. I find it interesting that T (now to be known as Obvio simply because it amuses me) doesn't tell G the consequences of his actions, even though the temperature affects them both. I guess he is confident that G will figure it out soon enough. If Obvio was a teacher, he would be all about teaching experiential learning.... or

When T first meets B, B is eating an apple that he also throws onto the platform as it goes down.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

Also, what happens to the bodies after they fall? I did not see any splatter or staining on the floors?

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

I find it interesting that T (now to be known as Obvio simply because it amuses me) doesn't tell G the consequences of his actions, even though the temperature affects them both. I guess he is confident that G will figure it out soon enough.

Not at first, but pretty sure he points it out once G starts wondering what's up.

 

[Tufts]

A note on the things folks chose to bring, and what that might tell us about them or symbolize.

• Obvio brought a Samurai Plus - The item that was the last straw of his sanity. Violence.
• G brought Don Quijote de la Mancha, also known as the first modern novel, published in two parts with 345,390 words. It was published in 1605, and is familiar to every single person born in Spain. Thre is a connection between the story and the movie.... I'm holding off on discussing this. - Shows a desire for culture. He east escargot. Dude is upper class.
• IMO brought her dog (I think that is a great choice) - Sentimentality
• B brought a rope - Escape
• According to IMO other people brought
  • Guns
  • Swords
  • Exercise bikes
  • Knives
  • Other weapons I can't remember
• We saw a surfboard. LOL. Surfers kids are irrepressible!

So two questions for the group:

1. What would you bring?
2. What food would you choose?

 

[Tufts]

A thought on IMO. She hung herself on level 202. Is this because she knew she was screwed foodwise? Or is it that finding out she had been lied to and there were more than 200 levels the final straw for her? All of her career had been a lie, and between that, the cancer, the horror of what she had witnessed, THE DEATH OF HER DOG, and the future hunger, it was all too much.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

1. What would you bring?
2. What food would you choose?

1. A weapon makes sense. Although if you sleep longer than the next guy you're fucked. Gotta kill your roomies until you find someone trustworthy I suppose.
2. Doesn't seem to matter. There's little chance of getting any. But for fun I'd say whole pig and see how that goes.

 

[Tufts]

Final thought of the day. The name of the prison was the Vertical Self Management Center. We know every prisoner was allowed to choose a dish. Does this not imply that if each prisoner correctly self-managed themselves and only ate what they had requested, there would be enough for everyone? I would say this is a definite commentary on greed, on entitlement, and on the need to work cooperatively.

Those above have all they need for thirty days, so they refuse to change anything.
Those who are below have nothing, and they want to change, but can do nothing about it.
G and B become the folks in the middle who travel across the levels who want to effect change, but are faced with obstacles and resistance.

 

[Cubo de Sangre]

A thought on IMO. She hung herself on level 202. Is this because she knew she was screwed foodwise? Or is it that finding out she had been lied to and there were more than 200 levels the final straw for her? All of her career had been a lie, and between that, the cancer, the horror of what she had witnessed, THE DEATH OF HER DOG, and the future hunger, it was all too much.

Doubt the extra levels realization would be that impactful. She was dying and figured the only good thing she could do at that point was make things easier on G.