The Platform (2019) gives the audience a lasting impression with its confined space, limited food, and random distribution, vividly showing the dark side of human nature. Five years later, The Platform 2 was released and sparked people's interest.
The second film maintains the same setting as the first, but the platform’s rules have changed.
The Vertical Self-Management Center is a dystopian prison, consisting of 333 floors with a hole in the center. Each day, a platform carrying food descends through the hole, stopping for two minutes on each level. Prisoners on higher floors have access to food first, while those on lower levels risk starvation. At the end of each month, prisoners are randomly reassigned to new floors.
Two groups exist among the prisoners: the Loyalists, who adhere to self-imposed rules, eating only their chosen food or trading voluntarily, and Barbarians, who eat whatever they can grab, are not concerned for prisoners in the lower levels.
While most people abide by the Loyalist principles, a few individuals break the rules. When someone dies, their portion of food should be destroyed according to the rules, but some people secretly consume it. Eventually, more and more people begin to abandon the principles, each looking out only for themselves and prioritizing their interests.
The film concludes with a destructive conflict between the Loyalists and the Barbarians, leaving no winners, delving deeper into the themes of “order and conflict.”
If The Platform (2019) aimed to convey that "a system can help distribute resources fairly among platform inhabitants," then The Platform 2 seems to suggest that "even with a system, fairness is not guaranteed." The existence of multiple systems leads to division, conflict, and struggle.
The platform in the film mirrors our world, with its hierarchical structure, stark resource distribution, and fierce competition. People are often quick to ignore others’ needs to secure their interests. Rules are often disregarded under certain circumstances. Although society appears to be fair and just, there will always be individuals who, driven by selfishness and indifference, attempt to disrupt this fairness.
Whether one belongs to the Loyalists or the Barbarians, true redemption for the inhabitants lies in self-restraint and moderation, which should lean on God rather than human strength or will.
If each person makes a little sacrifice, the platform can operate much easier, and each level would have enough food to meet their needs. Otherwise, as the film illustrates, the platform will continue to be a battleground with beneficiaries and plunderers. People shift between levels, with their beliefs and stances changed. Yet one thing remains constant: every person is fighting for their interests.
