Metropolis
Rintaro’s “Metropolis” is not an adaptation of the iconic Fritz Lang science fiction masterpiece, but a riff on it. Taking their cues from the comic book by Osamu Tezuka (who also created Astro Boy), the director and screenwriter Katsuhiro Ôtomo (“Akira”) use the ideas and visuals of Lang’s film as a foundation for a truly surreal anime adventure. One of the main things I heard about anime prior to really starting to watch it was how the visuals were the point, even when the narrative is just nonsense. Even in some of the best anime, that is not untrue, but the more one watches anime, you see just how dismissive that can be. I will say, though, that if you’re only frame of reference in anime is this film, I wouldn’t judge you for thinking that way before recommending plenty of others that dispel the idea.
By now, it’s a good bet that, if you watch the Lang film at all, you’re watching the “Complete” version that was restored and released in 2010. That film is 2 1/2 hours. Rintaro’s film is 108 minutes, but it feels 2 1/2 hours. (Lang’s film still moves briskly at the extended length.) Part of that is how dense the film is in terms of its narrative, even though the streamlined story is pretty straightforward. If the film had focused itself on Kenichi, the young boy who rescues Tima- a robot made to look like a girl, and Tima and built the narrative fully out of that story, it might be easier to really dive into. But there are so many different layers to the narrative played out that it muddies the waters. I still enjoy this movie a lot, but almost entirely as a stylistic exercise.
Kenichi is the nephew of a detective who is trying to apprehend the scientist, Dr. Laughton, who creates Tima. Tima was created at the behest of Metropolis’s wealthiest citizen, Duke Red, who basically runs the organization while his adopted son, Rock, leads a paramilitary group that destroys malfunctioning robots. Robots make up the workers of Metropolis. Tima is modeled after Duke Red’s deceased daughter, and is intended to become the control unit for his superweapon. A fire takes place, killing the doctor, but Kenichi finds Tima, and they escape.
As I said, this is a dense narrative, even if it feels fairly straightforward. Part of why Rintaro’s film doesn’t work as successfully in getting to the themes of Lang’s film is that the emotional connection is solely between Kenichi and Tima, who grows more human as they spend time with Kenichi. Duke Red and Rock are standard movie villains, and the detective uncle is more of a supporting figure in his own movie, at times. What we are left with are the images, and Toshiyuki Honda’s terrific soundtrack, which feels timeless in evoking the era Lang’s film was made. I do love the imagery Rintaro puts onscreen in bringing Tezuka’s comic to life. We get plenty of images that are directly inspired by Lang’s film, as well as a futuristic world that feels lifted from so many of the films that were inspired by “Metropolis” 1927. As a spectacle, Rintaro has created a wonderful film. As a cinematic experience, it loses steam because of its narrative limitations, but the spectacle is a particular thing of beauty throughout. I still really enjoy what Rintaro and co. came up with here.
