There is no denying that "The Platform" is a smart concept. Most of the movie is set in "The Hole," a futuristic or Camus-like building. It is a prison with hundreds of floors where inmates are housed two at a time. The sole opportunity for nourishment for the entire day is when a platform drops through a sizable hole in the middle of the structure every day. The inmates have access to a feast of beautifully prepared foods on level 1. Each prisoner would have enough food if everyone consumed only a modest portion of the ration. But they never do.
The protagonist of the movie, Goreng (Ivan Massagué), who entered the prison on his own volition to stop smoking and read a book, is the one who gives us a glimpse inside this nightmare. Goreng had no idea what he was getting himself into. As the movie begins on level 48, his first cellmate describes The Hole to Goreng. Usually there are some leftovers on the platform by then. The fact that inmates switch floors every month, however, is undoubtedly the system's most wicked feature and the film's most insightful social critique. Therefore, you might feel rather content on 8 one day and then content on 133 the next. You might not be prepared for the gory places this film goes if you're wondering how these folks survive while they're on the lower floors.
Given its restricted setting, the movie has several surprising twists, and each one changes how society is supposed to be reflected in the film. I found it especially fascinating how the shifting floors affected those who had previously been on lower levels but were now fortunate enough to be on higher levels. They appear to grab even more, making up for lost time and conscious that they would never again reach this level of success, rather than showing compassion for those who are in a position they were recently in.