''The Platform'' ( es, El hoyo, ) is a 2019 Spanish

social science fiction Social science fiction is a subgenre of science fiction, usually (but not necessarily) soft science fiction, concerned less with technology/space opera and more with speculation about society. In other words, it "absorbs and discusses anthropolo ...

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia.Amy Nicholson
"Toronto Film Review: 'The Platform'"
. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', 10 September 2019. The film is set in a large, tower-style "Vertical Self-Management Center." Its residents, who are switched every month between its many floors, are fed via a platform which, initially filled with food at the top floor, gradually descends through the tower's levels, stopping for a fixed amount of time on each. The system inevitably leads to conflict, as the residents at the top levels get to eat as much as they can, with each level getting only the leftovers from the previous ones. The film's cast includes

Iván Massagué Iván Massagué Horta (born 4 September 1976) is a Spanish actor. Biography Between 1996 and 1999 Massagué studied in the school of theatre “Nancy Tuñón” in Barcelona. Although he had been working for some years as an actor, he rose t ...

Antonia San Juan Antonia San Juan Fernández (born 22 May 1961) is a Spanish actress, director and screenwriter. Biography She was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain. At 19 she went to Madrid, where she started working as a professional theatre actr ...

Zorion Eguileor Zorion Eguileor (born 15 March 1946) is a Spanish actor, singer-songwriter and broadcaster. He is known for his role in ''The Platform (film), The Platform''. Career Eguileor's career in cinema and television in Spain began in the 1990s, in wh ...

, Emilio Buale Coka and Alexandra Masangkay. It premiered at the

2019 Toronto International Film Festival The 44th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from 5 to 15 September 2019. The opening gala was the documentary film '' Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band'', directed by Daniel Roher, and the festival closed with a ...

(TIFF), where it won the People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness. At TIFF, the film also secured a worldwide streaming deal with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. It was released on the streaming service on 20 March 2020.

Plot

Goreng wakes in a concrete cell marked with the number 48. His cellmate, Trimagasi, explains that they are in a "Vertical Self-Management Center" aka "The Pit", a tower-style facility in which food is delivered via a platform that travels from the top-down, halting for a fixed period on each floor. People on lower levels can eat only what those above leave and are killed if they keep the food. People are randomly reassigned to a new level each month. Each resident is allowed to bring one item in, Goreng choosing a copy of ''

Don Quixote is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of Wester ...

'', and Trimagasi a self-sharpening knife. Trimagasi reveals that when assigned to level 132, he and his former cellmate cannibalized a resident who had fallen down the shaft. One day, a bloodied woman named Miharu rides down on the platform. Trimagasi explains that she descends the pit every month searching for her child. It is revealed that Goreng volunteered to spend six months in the facility in exchange for a diploma, while Trimagasi is serving a year-long sentence for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

. Over the first month, they become friends, but on the day of the room shuffle, Goreng wakes up tied to his bed. They have been reassigned to level 171, where the platform is expected to be empty of food when it arrives. Trimagasi explains that he plans to cut strips of Goreng's flesh to sustain them both. On the eighth day, Trimagasi begins to do so but is attacked by Miharu as she comes down the platform. She frees Goreng and he kills Trimagasi. Miharu nurses Goreng and feeds him Trimagasi's flesh, but leaves soon after. On the night before the shuffle, Goreng is haunted by hallucinations of Trimagasi, who explains that they are now one and the same. In the third month, Goreng awakes on level 33 with a woman named Imoguiri, and her dog. Goreng recognizes her as the Administration official who had interviewed him before sending him down. She says that she was unaware of the horrible conditions and volunteered to enter when diagnosed with

terminal cancer Terminal illness or end-stage disease is a disease that cannot be cured or adequately treated and is expected to result in the death of the patient. This term is more commonly used for progressive diseases such as cancer, dementia or advanced ...

. Imoguiri rations her food and attempts to convince the men on level 34 to do so but is rebuffed. Two weeks pass and Goreng's threat to defecate on the food convinces them. The two argue over their methods of persuasion. One day, Miharu arrives injured, and Goreng and Imoguiri nurse her back to health. Goreng mentions Miharu's search for her child to Imoguiri, but Imoguiri says that children under 16 are not allowed into the facility. She also claims there are 200 levels in total. Goreng awakens the following month on level 202 to find that Imoguiri has hanged herself. Goreng eats her flesh to survive while plagued with hallucinations of his former cellmates. In the fifth month, Goreng is assigned to level 6. His new cellmate, Baharat, attempts unsuccessfully to escape. Estimating that there are 250 levels, Goreng convinces Baharat to ride the platform down with him and ration the food. One of the prisoners below convinces them to send a symbolic message to the Administration by leaving a single dish untouched (a

panna cotta Panna cotta (Italian for "cooked cream") is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized with coffee, vanilla, or other flavorings. History The name ''panna cotta'' is not mentioned in Ita ...

). As they descend further, they hand out portions to the prisoners, attacking those who refuse to cooperate. On the way, they encounter Miharu being attacked and try to save her, but she is killed and they are left severely injured. Goreng and Baharat continue to descend, eventually reaching level 333 where the platform stops. Goreng notices a child - Miharu's daughter - hiding under the bed. He gets off the platform with Baharat, only to have the platform continue downward, leaving them behind. Despite Baharat's reluctance, they feed the girl the untouched panna cotta. Goreng passes out and dreams of Baharat telling him that "the girl is the message." The next day, Goreng finds Baharat dead, having bled out from his injuries. Goreng takes the child with him when the platform arrives. They descend to the bottom of the pit, where he once again hallucinates Trimagasi, who tells him that "the message requires no bearer." Goreng gets off the platform and walks away with Trimagasi, both turning to watch as the girl ascends on top of the platform.

Cast

as ''Goreng'', named after '' gorèng'', which means "fried" in

Indonesian Indonesian is anything of, from, or related to Indonesia, an archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. It may refer to: * Indonesians, citizens of Indonesia ** Native Indonesians, diverse groups of local inhabitants of the archipelago ** Indonesian ...

Malay Malay may refer to: Languages * Malay language or Bahasa Melayu, a major Austronesian language spoken in Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore ** History of the Malay language, the Malay language from the 4th to the 14th century ** Indonesi ...

. *

as ''Trimagasi'', named after ''terima kasih'', which stands for "thank you" in

. *

as ''Imoguiri'', named after ''

Imogiri Imogiri (ꦲꦶꦩꦒꦶꦫꦶ in Javanese script or ''Imagiri'' in standard Javanese spelling) is a royal graveyard complex in Yogyakarta, in south-central Java, Indonesia, as well as a subdistrict under the administration of Bantul Regency. Im ...

'', a royal Javanese cemetery in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

. *

Emilio Buale Ludwig Emilio Buale Coka (born 26 November 1972) is an Equatorial Guinea, Equatoguinean-born Spanish actor, known internationally for his role as Baharat in the science fiction-horror movie ''The Platform (film), The Platform'' (2019). Early l ...

as ''Baharat'', named after ''

baharat ( ar, بَهَارَات; 'spices') is a spice mixture or blend used in Middle Eastern cuisines. The mixture of finely ground spices is often used to season lamb and mutton, fish, chicken, beef, and soups, and may also be used as a condiment. ...

'', which means "spice" in Arabic used in Middle Eastern, Turkish and Greek cuisines. * Alexandra Masangkay as ''Miharu'', named after , which means "to guard, to watch over, to open one’s eyes wide" in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

. * Eric L. Goode as ''Sr. Brambang'', named after ''brambang'', a Javanese word for

shallot The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with ''Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the d ...

. * Mario Pardo as Baharat's friend * Txubio Fernández de Jáuregui as

Chef A chef is a trained professional cook and tradesman who is proficient in all aspects of food preparation, often focusing on a particular cuisine. The word "chef" is derived from the term ''chef de cuisine'' (), the director or head of a kitche ...

Production

The film was produced by Basque Films alongside Mr. Miyagi Films and Plataforma la película AIE, with the participation of

RTVE The Corporación de Radio y Televisión Española, S.A. (; ), known as Radiotelevisión Española or RTVE, is the state-owned public corporation that assumed in 2007 the indirect management of the Spanish public radio and television service know ...

and ETB and support from ICAA, the Basque administration and

ICO is an action-adventure game developed by Japan Studio and Team Ico, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, released for the PlayStation 2 video game console in 2001 and 2002 in various regions. It was designed and directed by Fumito U ...

. Shooting lasted for 6 weeks. Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia says the film's key message is that "humanity will have to move towards the fair

distribution of wealth The distribution of wealth is a comparison of the wealth of various members or groups in a society. It shows one aspect of economic inequality or economic heterogeneity. The distribution of wealth differs from the income distribution in that ...

", with an exploration of the importance of individual initiative in driving political change that critiques both

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

and

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

. The film script is based on a theatre script by David Desola and Pedro Rivero, to which more action and physical elements were added to make it more suitable for a film. "Extensive" rewriting was required to convert the unproduced theater script into a film script. The director said it was a "torturous ordeal", as the writers defended their artistic vision and did not want some of the changes to be made. The

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wi ...

prison cells were built for the production in a Red Cross facility in a port in Bilbao. The director asked for cells that looked "economical, robust, ndimpregnable", which emphasized a sense of architectural and engineering proportion. Only two tiers of concrete cells were built; the appearance of many tiers of cells extending above and below each cell (visible from the hole in the center of each cell) was added in post-production using visual effects. The director says the vertical tower of cells "represents the dehumanized coldness of the Vertical Self-Management Center". The director states that the film's lavish "food was treated as another character in the story, one that is aesthetically antagonistic to the architecture of the prison." The luxurious displays of gourmet food were presented on "

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

-worthy tableware" to depict "excessive, almost erotic, opulent desire" that is eventually "desecrated" once the near-empty platform reaches the abject, starving inmates on the lower levels. The director acknowledges that the film can be difficult to watch, but he says the purpose of this approach is to generate discussion and debate by viewers about the political messages. When asked about the film's brutal violence and cannibalism, the director said the prison's "hole is a reflection of our society, oit couldn’t hide the violence. It had to show how we rip each other apart". The film uses two actors who are cast

against type In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

;

and

, who are known for their comedic roles, were chosen to lighten the film's weighty subject by adding "humour, irony, and surrealism". The film was shot chronologically, as the main actor Iván had to lose 12 kilos (26 lbs) over the six-week shoot to show his physical deterioration.

Release

The film was released in Spain on 8 November 2019 by Festival Films. ''The Platform'' was released onto Netflix internationally (including Spain) on 20 March 2020. In July 2020, Netflix revealed the film had in-fact been watched by 56 million households over its first four weeks of release, among the most-ever for one of their original films.

Critical response

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The site's critical consensus reads: "While it may feel muddled at times, ''The Platform'' is an inventive and captivating dystopian thriller." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Norman Wilner of ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' correctly predicted that the film would win the People's Choice Award, giving it a five-N rating and writing that the film "has everything: low comedy, political allegory, left-field twists, crowd-pleasing surprises, spectacular violence, sadism, altruism, and yet more spectacular violence, all wrapped up in a high-concept horror film that moves the premise of ''

Cube In geometry, a cube is a three-dimensional solid object bounded by six square faces, facets or sides, with three meeting at each vertex. Viewed from a corner it is a hexagon and its net is usually depicted as a cross. The cube is the only r ...

'' into a merciless vertical structure. It’s grotesque and compelling, like

grindhouse A grindhouse or action house is an American term for a theatre that mainly shows low-budget horror, splatter and exploitation films for adults. According to historian David Church, this theater type was named after the "grind policy", a film ...

uis UIS may refer to: *Uis, a village in Erongo Region, Namibia *Underwater Inspection System, a component of the Underwater Port Security System developed for the United States Coast Guard *Universal Interactive Studios (now Vivendi Games) *University ...

Buñuel Buñuel is a town and municipality located in the province and autonomous community of Navarre, northern Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto ...

. And it never blinks." Amy Nicholson of ''

'' wrote that "the film’s minimalist fury feels like the plays of

Samuel Beckett Samuel Barclay Beckett (; 13 April 1906 – 22 December 1989) was an Irish novelist, dramatist, short story writer, theatre director, poet, and literary translator. His literary and theatrical work features bleak, impersonal and tragicomic expe ...

. Massagué and Eguileor are up to being in a zesty '' Waiting for Godot''. And Eguileor's nasty, delightful, occasionally tender performance feels like an audition to play a

Bond Bond or bonds may refer to: Common meanings * Bond (finance), a type of debt security * Bail bond, a commercial third-party guarantor of surety bonds in the United States * Chemical bond, the attraction of atoms, ions or molecules to form chemical ...

villain, or perhaps the Spanish resurrection of

Hannibal Lecter Dr. Hannibal Lecter is a Character (arts), fictional character created by the novelist Thomas Harris. Lecter is a serial killer who Human cannibalism, eats his victims. Before his capture, he was a respected Forensic psychiatry, forensic psychi ...

." The film garnered new reviews after a surge in popularity during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. Sam Jones in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' suggested it was "the perfect parable for life in the time of the coronavirus and a visceral investigation of how a crisis can expose not only the stratification of human society but also the immutable strands of selfishness coded into our DNA."

Accolades

, - , align = "center" rowspan = "15" , 2020 , , rowspan = "6" ,

7th Feroz Awards The 7th award ceremony of the Feroz Awards was held at the Teatro Auditorio Ciudad de Alcobendas in Alcobendas, Community of Madrid, on January 16, 2020. The ceremony was hosted by María Hervás and was televised by Telemadrid. Nominees Nominatio ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Drama Film , , , , rowspan = "6" , , - ,

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

, , Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia , , , - ,

Best Screenplay Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporatio ...

, , David Desola, Pedro Rivero , , , - , Best Supporting Actress , , Antonia San Juan , , , - , Best Film Poster , , , , , - , Best Trailer , , , , , - , rowspan = "3" ,

12th Gaudí Awards The 12th Gaudí Awards, organised by the Catalan Film Academy, were presented on 19 January 2020 at in Barcelona. Directed by Jordi Prat and produced by Dagoll Dagom, the gala was hosted by . The nominations were read by Anna Castillo and Oriol ...

, , colspan = "2" , Best Non-Catalan Language Film , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - , Best Screenplay , , David Desola, Pedro Rivero , , , - , Best Visual Effects , , Mario Campoy, Irene Río, Iñaki Madariaga , , , - , 75th CEC Medals , , Best New Director , , Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia , , , , , - , rowspan = "3" ,

34th Goya Awards The 34th Goya Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AACCE), honored the best in Spanish films of 2019 and took place at the Palacio de Deportes José María Martín Carpena in Málaga on 25 January 2020 ...

, ,

Best Original Screenplay The Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay is the Academy Award for the best screenplay not based upon previously published material. It was created in 1940 as a separate writing award from the Academy Award for Best Story. Beginning with the ...

, , David Desola, Pedro Rivero , , , , rowspan = "3" , , - ,

Best New Director ''Best New Director'' was an award given by the New York Film Critics Circle from its first inception in 1989 until discontinuing in 1996. There was no award in 1993. 1980s 1989 *Kenneth Branagh – ''Henry V (1989 film), Henry V'' **Runners-up: St ...

, , Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia , , , - , Best Special Effects , , Mario Campoy, Iñaki Madariaga , , , - , 29th Actors and Actresses Union Awards , , Best Film Actress in a Secondary Role , , Antonia San Juan , , , , align = "center" , , - ,

33rd European Film Awards The 33rd European Film Awards was scheduled to be presented in Reykjavík, Iceland on 12 December 2020. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the awards were announced in a virtual event online. Selection Feature The list of feature-length fict ...

, , Best Visual Effects , , Iñaki Madariaga , , , ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Platform, The 2019 films 2010s science fiction horror films Films about cannibalism Films about food and drink Films about social class Films set in prison Spanish science fiction horror films Spanish-language Netflix original films Dystopian films Fictional buildings and structures Social science fiction films Films shot in Bilbao 2010s Spanish-language films 2010s Spanish films