Barbaric thriller The Platform (Basque Films) – originally titled El Hoyo – is currently trending on Netflix, and for good reason.
With the world now suffering through the COVID-19 pandemic, Spanish Director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia does not shy away from depicting the sheer greed and savagery of mankind.
In recent times, countries (including Australia) have adopted a “me first” gluttonous attitude in the face of adversity by hoarding essential household items such as toilet paper, food, and baby formula.
Simply put, The Platform is a microcosm of our planet’s entitlement and class system.
Set in a vertical underground jail where privileged inmates on high floors eat better than those below – a banquet descends from top to bottom on a rectangular floating platform, staying two minutes per level – one man goes on a messianic mission of implementing equity among all prisoners.
The protagonist, Goreng (Ivan Massagué), voluntarily enters the precinct for a six-month stint with a goal of quitting smoking and the promise of an accredited diploma upon completion.
Each entrant is permitted one item of choice; Goreng brings a hard copy of Don Quixote, most others opt for a weapon. At the end of each month, inmates are gassed and reassigned to a different floor.
On his first day, Goreng, paired with cellmate Trimagasi (Zorion Eguileor) on level 48, is initially appalled at the thought of eating scraps left by 94 people before them as his counterpart wastes no time devouring everything in sight. The following month, finding themselves on level 171, Goreng learns to appreciate what he had previously neglected.
The third month he awakes on level 33 (biblical reference to the age of Jesus’ death), barely survives level 202 the following month, before being gifted level 6 (number of the beast) on his penultimate month.
Goreng convinces new cellmate Baharat (Emilio Buale Coka) to join his crusade to portion out the food among all who remain alive.
As they travel down the deep nadirs, the Robin Hood duo are determined to preserve an unblemished pannacotta to return to the top, sending a “message” to the draconian administration above that they shall not be conquered and controlled in this fiendish manner.
The lower the levels go, the more desperate and barbarous cellmates become with the lack of nourishment. Scenes of brutality and cannibalism are not for the faint-hearted, but are certainly an honest representation of humans’ horrific treatment of one another when the chips are down.
Another biblical reference relates to John 6:54-56: “Anyone who does eat my flesh and drink my blood has eternal life, and I shall raise that person up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in that person”.
Catholic believers might interpret the notion that consuming the Eucharist instils the recipient to be more Christ-like, whilst eating the flesh of a cruel individual makes one “not-so-Christ-like”.
The Platform is available to watch on Netflix. In Spanish, dubbed in English, with subtitles.
Rated: R18+. Some male and female nudity. Multiple scenes of intense graphic depictions of death, violence, suicide, cannibalism – bloody and gory scenes involving both human and animals. Mild use of profanity. Scenes containing alcohol consumption, drugs, and smoking.