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This is part II of a multi-section article. If you wish to read part one before proceeding, please click the following link: Part I
At this point I will discuss some of the major plot lines in the story. In an attempt to touch on a lot of the major and subtle events that take place throughout the film, I will only briefly mention what happens without going into too many details about the overall meanings of the events. The meanings, messages and my overall interpretations of the movie will be discussed in Part III. So with all of that being said:
SPOILERS AHEAD!
Story Plot
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The film begins in the back of the train. Here we are introduced to Curtis, the story’s main character, and other members of the lower class society, including Curtis’s wise old mentor – Gilliam, who is one of the oldest original members on board the train. Curtis looks up to Gilliam and the two have a very strong relationship.
Living conditions at the back of the train are dark, dirty and rough. Which is portrayed by the films dark and somber colors and imagery. Food, which consist of gelatinous protein bricks, is heavily rationed in this section of the train and passengers are continuously kept in check by a brutal authoritarian regime that is run by Minister Mason.
Authority
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The sinister brutality of the authoritarian regime becomes apparent when they authorize the use of extreme force on a citizen who acts out against their authority. After a passenger throws a shoe at an upper class citizen which happens to strike her in the face, she callously orders the mans arm to be amputated. They regime freezes the man’s arm outside of the train and then shatters it with a hammer.
The viewer quickly becomes aware in the first few scenes of the movie that the passengers in this section live in squalor and are treated inhumanely by the trains governing officials. Two children are essentially kidnapped by the upper class and one older gentleman is separated from his wife because, though they both play the violin, the upper class only needs one player to satisfy their needs, so he is taken to live in the front of the train against his wishes of staying with his wife in the back.
Revolution
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Curtis, the current leader of this section is planning to lead a group of passengers in revolt against their ruthless overlords. He receives messages in his food bricks, put there by a mysterious unknown source, that urge him to revolt and which help him stage the revolution. Curtis also receives strategic advice from Gilliam, his mentor.
The plan is for the group to fight their way out of the back of the train and make their way to the engine, where they will take over the train and redistribute the wealth equally among all passengers.
The group fights their way through several physical and psychological barriers with each car posing a new set of challenges to the group.
The Battle
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Upon opening one particular car door, the group comes face to face with a heavily armed group of men that has been specifically assembled by the governing body in order to stop the rebellion. They carry axes and knives and are equipped with night vision goggles.
A brutal fight scene ensues while Minister Mason delightedly watches the battle through binoculars from afar, all the while counting the civilian deaths on hand held tally counter. This is a particularly important scene.
After suffering many deaths, the group wins the battle and manages to take Minister Mason hostage. They continue on towards the front of the train.
The Kids and Classroom
At one point the group of rebels comes to a classroom filled with children where a creepy pregnant teacher leads the kids in a song about the sacred train engine (see previous article for the video).
Here we see how the governing body indoctrinates the ideology of the train into future generations. The teacher essentially brain washes the little monsters into worshiping the engine and the conductor as a sort of godly figure. One student, a young girl, describes the overall sentiment of the upper class passengers toward the lower class. She describes the lower class as lazy and stupid and basically deserving of their place on board the train.
The entire scene is a mixture of delightful creepiness - the teacher is creepy and disturbing and the kids are weird. Overall the scene is quite enjoyable.
Lets Speed Things Up a Bit
Moving on we eventually experience the assassination of Gilliam (Curtis’s mentor) and the slaughtering of the majority of passengers from the back of the train. In rebuttal for the acts, Curtis kills Minister Mason in revenge.
More fighting ensues as the group approaches the front of the train. We see the upper class citizens who are privy to a luxurious lifestyle of food, amenities and space. The group also passes a chemically subdued crowd of upper class citizens who are strung out on the resident drug of choice kronole. Kronole is referenced and seen throughout the film. It is a waste product produced by the functioning of the train that can be sniffed in order to get high.
The Engine
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Finally, Curtis makes it to the front of the train where he confesses what life was like at the back of the train when everyone first came aboard. Chaos, cannibalism and self sacrifice are revealed in his emotional speech.
After his speech, Curtis meets Wilford, the train’s engineer. Here, for the first time in his life, Curtis experiences space, comfort, luxury and most importantly, quiet and peaceful solitude.
Here, Curtis finds out from Wilford that it was he who sent him the secret messages contained in his food and that he and Gilliam provoked and orchestrated the entire rebellion. Wilford also explains to Curtis that similar revolts have taken place in the past and that the front and back of the train work together to maintain the overall ecosystem of the locomotive and its population. The two leaders (Gilliam and Wilford) use fear and inequality in order to govern the train, maintain order and also to keep the population in check.
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The film ends with Curtis declining Wilford’s offer to take over as the new leader of the front. Instead he sacrifices himself in order to save a child. An explosion dislodges the train from its tracks and three passengers survive the crash to seemingly start a new life outside of the train.
That concludes part II of this article. Part III will discuss my interpretations of the film and analyze the films overall message and its relevance to today’s world.
Thanks for reading