In the past, friends would advise us not to eat a lot of food or drink before a certain movie; As a sign of horror or disgust, I never followed or believed this advice until I watched the Spanish movie: The Platform (El Hoyo). This movie is one of the favorite genres of the producers, limited closed spaces, mostly unknown actors, casual clothes, treasure in the plot.
The events of the film take place in a place that you do not know whether it is real or imaginary, in our time or in a parallel time.. It does not matter, the important thing is that it is a long prison that contains hundreds of floors.. On each floor two prisoners lie inside a cell and every day a “platform” (El hoyo) descends. Huge food from the first floor down to the last, descending mechanically uniformly through a circular hatch in the middle of each cell..
The film is classified as science fiction.. It is one of the kind of films that you can only watch once in a lifetime, for many reasons, the most important of which is “disgust” and the second is that the element of attraction and excitement depends on the first viewing. If you think about the events for a long time, the fascination will disappear.
The events begin with the awakening of the young hero of the film and next to him an old man. We learn about our own world, which is a multi-storey prison, and that it has no doors and no way to escape from it.. We also know that every prisoner chooses one thing with which to enter the cell, and the prisoner has chosen a book. , while the old man chose a sekan, and this is also symbolic that a person, even if fate pushes him to some events, but he alone chooses how to deal with them, and the tools he uses in facing various difficulties.
Despite the fact that the idea is not realistic, its makers used very realistic techniques in photography, presentation and representation as well, so in some chapters it unites with the world, forgetting that it is just a projection or imagination.. Fam stresses the idea of human fear, fear of death, and fear of hunger, The fear of being taken away.
The only symbolism I liked about the movie is that prison isn't just for the guilty; Rather, it is for all those who have a desire for something in life. The hero entered for his desire to stop smoking and to complete his studies.. This is the content of life, not everyone in it is guilty, and not everyone in it is hungry for achievement and success, rather it is a mixture of this and that, as well as Who moves them? .
What I liked about the film is the depth of each symbolism, even if the projection itself is superficial, but the makers of “The Platform”(El Hoyo) successfully explored it; Details such as the fact that the wealthy (or residents of the upper floors) become bored, feel sad and seek other problems despite the availability of food, as is similar to what happens in reality when a rich man commits suicide because his life has lost its meaning and he does not find anything to offer .. Also details of the absence of cooperation and trust Among the poor class, if they cooperate, they conquer the rich, but in many times, due to the pressures of life, they are selfish and desire to survive.
The film attempted to expose the concept of socialism and explore why it failed in the real world; The hero in the middle of the events decided to move between the floors to convince the prisoners of each floor to take only a specific part of the food and leave the rest to those below it, but of course the prisoners did not agree to this proposal, even the poor were not convinced, as if the movie says that the solution is not in capitalism that only makes The population of the upper classes is the one who gets food without anyone else, nor in socialism that makes everyone equal without condition or restriction, so society becomes lazy as long as the individual will get his daily bread whether he works or not... But the solution is in “justice”; Which sets conditions for obtaining food, but after meeting the basic needs.. It was possible for the hero to choose a specific item on the dining table that is sufficient for the life and survival of all prisoners and all of them, and makes it compulsory, you only take one piece from it, and you take the rest of the table from it according to what you can Present it to others.
And I think that this direct symbolism is what is wrong with the film, even if the audience likes it. Comparing the social classes to floors and wealth with the huge plate of food that the first classes take completely, and even seek to spoil it so that it does not reach the lower classes is a clear analogy, an open symbolism that any viewer realizes.. and I think this Against the rules of projection in the first place..