By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Tarô Rin
Starring: Jamieson Price | Kei Kobayashi | Kouki Okada | Yuka Imoto
Original language title: Metoroporisu
Country: japan
Year: 2002
Running time: 107
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0293416
Bob says: “I for one didn’t see much of a connection to Lang’s film at all. There is the setting — a huge mechanized city in which many of the people find themselves below the surface (literally and figuratively), an elite who ignore or are unaware of the underclass, and the quasi-Deco architecture, along with the music and dress of the characters mirrors the 1920s a bit. Of course, in Lang’s film the underclass were exclusively humans, who were enslaved into operating the machines that kept the elites comfortable. The only robot I recall from the film was Lydia, an evil creation used to take the place of the woman who fought for the humanity of the underclass. And in all honesty, I had such a hard time taking this one seriously.
“I really didn’t like this film when I saw it, probably because I was expecting something on the level of GHOST IN THE SHELL which I still think is an absolute masterpiece, both graphically and in the way it raises questions about the nature of humanity and identity.”
Michael says: “Over the weekend, Scot and I watched the DVD of the Japanese 2002 anime film, METROPOLIS. It was a visually spectacular film, with gorgeous drawings of immense buildings and cityscapes from a person’s perspective. The story was fairly complex politically, utilizing some of Asimov’s basic theories of robotics. In this future society, robots are used to do basic work from maintenance and waste treatment all the way up to detective work. Some humans feel that the robots are taking jobs away from humanity.
“At the same time, the wealthy elite, who live in Metropolis are in a political struggle with the common people who live under the city, and revolution is brewing. During a citywide celebration, Duke Red, a popular, wealthy businessman, unveils his latest construction, the Ziggaurat, an immense building towering over the already skyscraping city. Unbeknownst to the common people, the Ziggaurat will hold the throne of the world’s leader. Things get pretty complicated from there, but involves the secret creation of the most powerful and sophisticated robot, a dead daughter, an obsessive soldier, and a clever detective and his caring nephew.
“I know a few of you have seen this, and I’m curious if any of you who have also seen the original silent film, METROPOLIS, can tell me what, if any, similarities there are. I did like the vague similarities to BLADE RUNNER.
“Still, despite the intriguing, complex plot, there seemed something not quite developed enough about the story, and I think the problem stemmed from the central character, the robot Tima. I wish her character had more developed. ” 3 1/2 cats
Peg says: “Aside from my usual concerns with most Japanese anime productions (the character animation is always wooden and the voices seem very goofy), I liked this a lot. The art direction is nothing short of stunning! Worth seeing for that alone.”