The Platform (2019)

## CREW

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Director

Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia

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Screenplay

David Desola
Pedro Rivero

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Producer

Carlos Juárez

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Cinematography

Jon D. Domínguez

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Music

Aranzazu Calleja

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Editor

Haritz Zubillaga
Elena Ruiz

## CAST

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Starring

Iván Massagué
Antonia San Juan
Zorion Eguileor
Emilio Buale
Alexandra Masangkay

## DETAILS

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Genre

Drama/ Science Fiction/ Thriller

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Release dates

6 September 2019

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Running time

1h 34m

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Countries

Spain

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Language

Spanish

## Article

***The Platform*** (Spanish: *El hoyo*, transl. *The Hole*) is a 2019 Spanish social science fiction horror film directed by Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia. 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, Antonia San Juan, Zorion Eguileor, Emilio Buale Coka and Alexandra Masangkay. It premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where it won the People's Choice Award for Midnight Madness. At TIFF, the film also secured a worldwide streaming deal with Netflix. It was released on the streaming service on 20 March 2020.

## Overview

A mysterious place, an indescribable prison, a deep hole. An unknown number of levels. Two inmates living on each level. A descending platform containing food for all of them. An inhuman fight for survival, but also an opportunity for solidarity.

## Synopsis

The film begins with a scene of a gourmet meal being expertly prepared, while a voiceover states that there are three types of people - the ones above, the ones below, and the ones who fall.

A young man named Goreng awakens in a concrete prison cell where he is greeted by an older man named Trimagasi. Trimagasi tells him that they are on level 48 and that they are in "the pit." Trimagasi wonders what their food will be - when Goreng asks him to elaborate, Trimagasi states that it will be whatever the ones above leave behind. Goreng looks through a rectangular hole in the bottom of the cell, revealing countless identical cells below theirs - he sees the same when he looks above. When Goreng asks how the pit works, Trimagasi simply tells him that "they eat," and that while it is either easy or difficult to do so depending on where you've been assigned, 48 is not that bad of a level. Goreng asks him how many levels are below them, and Trimagasi says there are not many, but that soon there will be less. Goreng calls out to the ones below them, but Trimagasi instructs him not to, and says that the ones above won't answer either. Goreng says he has been in the pit for many months, and that they will only remain at level 48 for exactly a month. A platform containing scraps of food then lowers itself through the hole in the ceiling, stopping once it reaches them. Trimagasi begins to eat hungrily. Goreng refuses to eat, disgusted at the thought of having to feast on food that 94 others have already eaten, but finds a perfectly intact apple and tucks it into his pocket, intending to save it for later. After the platform descends, Goreng points out that the room is growing hotter. Trimagasi says that the temperature in the room will continue to rise until they boil alive unless Goreng returns the apple he stole, and that the punishment for attempting to keep any of the food is being burned or frozen to death. Goreng throws the apple back, and the temperature returns to normal.

Goreng offers to tell Trimagasi why he is in the pit in exchange for Trimagasi's own story. He explains that he plans on quitting smoking and that he brought a copy of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote to read - as all inmates are allowed to choose one personal item to bring into the pit with them - leading Trimagasi to question if Goreng admitted himself to the pit voluntarily. Goreng reveals that he agreed to remain in the pit for 6 months in exchange for an accredited diploma. Trimagasi reveals that he is spending a year in the pit, offended at the fact that he is not receiving a degree. The next day, Trimagasi tells his own story; he purchased a "Samurai Max," a highly efficient knife sharpener that he had seen in a television ad, before then seeing an ad for the "Samurai Plus," a self-sharpening knife. In his frustration at having wasted his money on the Samurai Max, he threw his TV out his window, crushing and killing a man who was passing by. Trimagasi appears to show no remorse for this on account that the man was an illegal immigrant and therefore shouldn't have been there in the first place. Trimagasi then confides that he doesn't know exactly how many levels there are but that there are definitely at least 132, having stayed on level 132 before and claiming that no food reaches such low levels. Goreng doesn't believe Trimagasi could have possibly survived for a month without food, but Trimagasi claims he was still able to eat in spite of the platform containing no food. Goreng wants to try to convince the ones above to ration the food, but Trimagasi says it's fruitless. Goreng then tries to pass the message to those below, but Trimagasi unzips his pants and urinates on them as Goreng watches in disgust. Goreng shows Trimagasi his copy of Don Quixote before asking what personal item Trimagasi chose - Trimagasi reveals that he brought a Samurai Plus.

The next day, a body falls through the hole, much to the horror of Goreng, while Trimagasi appears wholly unfazed. Goreng yells to the other cells, asking why nobody is reacting to the body; he is met with no response. It is then that Goreng concludes that Trimagasi cannibalized his cellmate. Just then, the platform arrives, carrying a bruised, bloodied Asian woman named Miharu. While Goreng is concerned for her, Trimagasi tells him not to worry, explaining that Miharu descends the pit every month in search of her son. Trimagasi also explains that each month, Miharu kills her cellmate so that she may have a higher chance of being paired with her son during the next month's cell rotation, and that the body that fell earlier was likely Miharu's cellmate, having been pushed by her. The platform descends and Miharu is attacked by the prisoners on level 49 - Goreng screams for them to stop, but is ignored. Trimagasi tells him not to interfere since "they'll only keep her for a few days." Miharu kills the two men in self-defense and returns to the platform, looking up at Trimagasi and Goreng emotionlessly before continuing her descent downward. Goreng begins reading Don Quixote to Trimagasi once Miharu is gone, beginning at chapter one. The two men become friends over the following month.

One night, Trimagasi asks Goreng if he believes in God. Goreng doesn't answer, but Trimagasi asks Goreng to pray for them, explaining that the room is being filled with gas that will put them to sleep and when they wake up, they will be in a different cell. Trimagasi explains that this is his second to last month in the pit, that he doesn't think Goreng will survive much longer, and that he believes he deserves a degree for his time spent in the pit. Goreng asks him the same question Trimagasi had asked him earlier to which Trimagasi answers, "this month, I believe."

When Goreng awakens, he is bound and gagged in his bed. Trimagasi appears and it is revealed that the two have been reassigned to level 171. While Trimagasi explains that hunger will drive a person insane and that Goreng's meat is more desirable since he is younger than Trimagasi, he admits that he is reluctant to kill Goreng and plans to spare his life for at least a week. Screams can be heard from above them - the screams of their fellow prisoners having discovered what levels they have been reassigned to. Several bodies fall past them through the hole. He removes Goreng's gag, who begins begging for his life, but Trimagasi says their friendship was never meant to last. The platform arrives in their room, holding nothing but empty plates, which Trimagasi throws in frustration. He explains that after eight days, he will begin cutting strips of flesh from Goreng, tending to the wounds each time so that Goreng doesn't bleed to death. Goreng tells Trimagasi that although the death of the immigrant may have been accidental, Goreng's death won't be and Trimagasi will be responsible for it, but Trimagasi retorts that "the ones above" will be the ones responsible.

For the next eight days, Trimagasi keeps Goreng bound while the latter tries to escape to no avail. On the eighth day, Trimagasi tells Goreng that the time has come for him to begin consuming his cellmate. Goreng has become too exhausted to resist, and solemnly tells Trimagasi that he will hold him solely responsible for his death; not the circumstances, nor the inmates above them. Trimagasi successfully cuts a slice from Goreng's leg only to be stopped by Miharu as she rides down the platform. Miharu knocks Trimagasi out with a wine bottle and uses his Samurai Plus to slit his throat before freeing Goreng, who fatally stabs him. Goreng passes out and wakes up to the sight of Miharu cutting into Trimagasi's flesh, which she uses to feed both herself and Goreng. Before she continues her ride downward, Goreng asks her what her son's name is; she doesn't respond. Over the next month, Goreng continues to sustain himself using Trimagasi's body, experiencing a hallucination of Trimagasi. The apparition taunts him for the lack of respect and sympathy Goreng showed him, claiming that while they are now both murderers, Trimagasi is the more civilized of the two. As Goreng is gassed at the end of the month, he dreams of a sexual encounter with Miharu.

The next morning, he is awoken by a dachshund puppy and discovers that he is on level 33. The dog is named Ramesses II and belongs to a woman named Imougiri, his new cellmate. Imougiri says she would have never come into the pit without Ramesses, while Goreng scoffs and says that bringing a dog into the pit was a poor choice, as he will inevitably end up dead. Imougiri then mocks him for his own decision to bring a book, and calls him by his name, leading him to question how she knows him. She doesn't answer, only telling him he may smoke if desired, whereupon he suddenly recognizes her. A flashback scene reveals Goreng, prior to his admission, being interviewed by Imougiri about any allergies or dietary restrictions he may have. It is revealed that he was smoking during the interview; Imougiri firmly told him he would not be allowed to smoke once he was admitted. She subsequently asked him what his favorite food was; though initially confused about why he was being asked this, once Imougiri ominously explained that it would be "added to the menu," Goreng answered escargot a la bourguignonne (snails with garlic butter).

Back in the present, Goreng asks if Imougiri is here to free him; she says she can't, and that much like him, she came to the pit voluntarily. Goreng tells her that people die in the pit every day, which Imougiri responds is actually called a "Vertical Self-Management Center." Goreng asks how many levels there are, to which she responds there are two hundred. Goreng says there is not enough food for two hundred levels, but Imougiri asserts that if everyone ate only what they needed, the food would reach the lowest level. The platform arrives in their cell. While Goreng eats, Imougiri prepares two plates and then feeds Ramesses, explaining that she plans to ration her food by feeding her dog one day and herself the next. Goreng tells her that she may inadvertently cause the death of a child; Imougiri seems confused, explaining that no children under 16 are permitted into the pit. Goreng says that at least one child is in the pit, but Imougiri insists that there are absolutely no exceptions to this rule.

The platform descends and Imougiri tells the people below them that she has prepared plates for them. She urges them to only eat what's on the plate, then prepare similar plates for the ones below and tell them to do the same. The men on level 34 aggressively explain that they have just come from level 88 and are practically starving; when Imougiri tells them they have a responsibility to take care of those who have been less fortunate than them this month, they angrily cuss at her and begin to eat as much as they can off the platform out of spite. Goreng tells Imougiri that if the prisoners were reasonable enough to ration their food, the Administration would know how to prevent this from happening in the outside world. Imougiri asks Goreng if he thinks everything the Administration does is bad, revealing that she has been working for them for 25 years. Goreng retorts that she receives special privileges because of this, having had the liberty to choose her own cellmate, unlike him.

Each day, Imougiri continues to try and reason with those below her, only for her requests to go ignored each time. On the fifteenth day, the men are angrily confronted by Goreng, who promises that if they do not follow Imougiri's instructions, he will defecate on their food for the remainder of the month. Imougiri says she wanted to convince the ones below rather than fear-monger them, but Goreng insists it was the only way. Imougiri tries to convince the ones above but Goreng says they won't listen because he can't defecate upwards, therefore he has nothing to successfully threaten them with. The next day Miharu arrives on the platform, severely injured and barely conscious. As they tend to her injuries, the platform descends, and Miharu speaks for the first time in the film, only stating "it's cold." Goreng realizes that the temperature in the room is being lowered with the intent of freezing them to death; Imougiri's dog Ramesses has kept a scrap of meat. He fights the dog for the scrap and the temperature returns to normal. Miharu stays in their cell and in the middle of the night, Goreng awakens to a violent confrontation between the two women. He breaks up the fight and as a distressed Imougiri bursts into tears, he discovers that Miharu has killed Ramesses.

The next day, Miharu rides the platform down once again. Goreng tells Imougiri about Miharu's search for her son; Imougiri says she wouldn't understand what Miharu is going through, since Imougiri does not have any children of her own. Goreng watches as Miharu stabs the men in the cell below them while Imougiri recalls her interview with Miharu 10 months ago, relaying that Miharu came to the pit alone. She also reveals that Miharu is an actress, that she is an orphan, she has no children, and her personal item is a ukulele. She makes racist comments about Miharu and ridicules Goreng for his decision to bring a book before revealing to him that she has been sending people to the pit for eight years, promising that she was unaware of the inhumane conditions. She takes off her shirt to expose cancerous scars across her chest, confiding that she fought the disease for three years and came to the pit to fix the system once she discovered that her diagnosis was terminal.

The next day, the platform arrives with an untouched plate of escargot a la bourguignonne. Goreng is pleased by this, but places two snails on each ration plate rather than eating it all himself. When Goreng asks Imougiri why she isn't eating, she says today was supposed to be Ramesses II's day to eat. Goreng then tells her she should have something since it is the last day of the month, and they have no way of knowing what cell they'll end up in tomorrow. Goreng has the misfortune of waking up in cell 202, contradicting Imougiri's earlier claims that only two hundred cells existed, and is horrified to discover that many more cells still exist below them, and that Imougiri has hanged herself. Goreng experiences hallucinations of Trimagasi and Imougiri telling him to consume her dead body; greatly distressed by the hallucinations, he refuses, sustaining himself by eating pages from Don Quixote instead. He eventually gives in, slicing into Imougiri using the Samurai Plus that Trimagasi had left behind.

The next morning, Goreng awakens and finds Miharu sleeping in the bed adjacent to his. She tries to stab him with the Samurai Plus, but Goreng wakes up screaming, revealing this encounter to be a dream. Goreng discovers that he is now in cell number 6, and that his new cellmate is a religious black man named Baharat who has been trying to escape the pit for a while and is now fully convinced he will be able to. Baharat tells the man and woman above them - a couple - that God spoke to him and instructed him to escape the pit, alluding to two "compassionate" individuals aiding him and being rewarded with eternal life for doing so. They agree to help him; Baharat tosses his rope up to them, and as he begins climbing, the woman defecates on his face. The stupefied Baharat drops his rope down all the remaining levels and nearly falls into the hole himself, but is saved by Goreng. Despite the platform being nearly full with food as it arrives in their cell, Baharat doesn't eat. The two men listen as the couple on level 5 have sex.

Goreng is once again visited by an apparition of Trimagasi that night, who congratulates him on having only one month left before he is freed from the pit. Goreng convinces Baharat to ride the platform with him to convince the other prisoners to ration their food, promising to make weapons to defend themselves against rogue or belligerent prisoners who attack them. Goreng estimates that there are about 250 levels altogether. Baharat asks what they should do in the event that they run out of food before reaching the lowest level; Goreng says they will simply ride the platform back up. Baharat is initially reluctant to do so, not wanting to leave a level so close to the top, but quickly agrees.

The next day, the two men begin their descent in spite of being ridiculed by the couple on level 5. Goreng says that they will only start giving out the food once they reach level 51, since the people on the first 50 levels get to eat every day. One of the men on level 7, who helped Baharat climb a few months before, begs them to let him eat since he was on level 114 the previous month, but Goreng is unsympathetic to his plight. The man makes racist comments towards Baharat before attempting to forcefully take a piece of food off the platform; an angry Baharat bludgeons him to death. From that point forward, the two adamantly defend the food from the prisoners on the first 50 levels. On one of the levels, they meet Sr. Brambang, a man in a wheelchair who appears to have a history with Baharat. Brambang tells them that civility and discussion is more effective than violence, then says that their quest to "break the system" will be meaningless if the Administration doesn't realize what they have done. He then suggests that they leave a "beautifully prepared" plate of panna cotta fully intact, and send it all the way back up to level 0 as a "message" for the Administration. The two passionately guard the panna cotta, making sure it remains untouched, and start rationing food once they reach level 51, attacking prisoners who try to take more than what they are allotted.

As they approach level 250, they come across the corpse of a man; Goreng reasons that this was the cell Miharu woke up in. The platform continues its descent, forcing the men to realize that there are more than just 250 levels. The platform does not stop at any of the following levels; Baharat concludes that if there's nobody alive in a cell, the platform will not stop at that level. They hear Miharu's screams and discover that she is being attacked by two other inmates. Baharat and Goreng jump off the platform and violently confront the men. Miharu is fatally stabbed; Goreng briefly mourns over her corpse, but is dragged away by Baharat as the platform is leaving. Though both men are injured and visibly traumatized, they continue their descent, with no food remaining on the platform aside from the still completely untouched panna cotta. The platform finally stops at level 333; Baharat assumes that they have reached the last level, and tells Goreng to prepare himself for the ascension upwards. It's then that Goreng notices a little girl hiding under the bed. They get off the platform, but it continues downward before they can get back on. Goreng instructs Baharat, who is still holding the panna cotta, to toss it back onto the platform, but he refuses. As the platform gets further and further away from them, both men realize that the temperature in the room hasn't changed at all. The girl slowly crawls out from under the bed, revealing that she bears a striking resemblance to Miharu; Goreng realizes that the "son" Miharu had been looking for is actually her daughter. Though reluctant, they feed her the panna cotta before passing out.

Goreng has yet another dream about Trimagasi, who commends him for his bravery in "squandering" the food all the way from level 6 and asks him if he plans to eat Baharat. He then hallucinates Imougiri telling him that Ramesses II is the message, only to be shaken awake by Baharat, who tells him, "the girl is the message." He looks to the platform to see the girl sleeping peacefully atop it, affirming that she is "the message" before abruptly jolting awake, revealing this exchange to have been a dream as well. He discovers that the real Baharat has died from his injuries. Finding Miharu's daughter asleep in one of the beds, he wakes her up and brings her to the platform when it arrives. Once the platform finally arrives at the lowest level, he is once again approached by the apparition of Trimagasi, who encourages him to get off the platform and leave with him. Goreng initially declines, saying he has to ride the platform back up to level 0, but Trimagasi tells him this is unnecessary since he is not "the message." Goreng responds that he is the bearer, and Trimagasi says, "the message requires no bearer." Realizing that Trimagasi is right, Goreng gets off the platform and the two walk off together as they watch the sleeping girl ascend.

## Stills

1/13