Walter’s Review Blog

Kino Cinema Cork, Wednesday February 25th 2003

Dir. Fritz Lang, Germany 1927

It’s impossible to go see Metropolis in a cinema without feeling likesomething of a film student.Metropolis is...

A: German

B: Over 70 years old

C: Black and White

D: Silent

For the record - I’m not a film student and don’t plan on becoming one soon. This was my first viewingof Metropolis.

My worst fears about seeing this movie were confirmed in the opening scene...

It’s Shift change at the factory. One group of workers shuffle listlessly into the factory whileanother shuffle out. There are hundreds of them, their heads are stooped low, their eyes lifeless.Their movements are slow and mechanical - an exagerrated robot-like march. The image is Iconic, there is no pretense of realism. Metropolis is full of symbolism but devoid of nuance. From that opening scene, the movie announces itself as a film to be appreciated rather than enjoyed.

Metropolis is a very Germanic film. Its hard not to be reminded of the writings of Nietzche or Herman Hesse.It has that same firebrand individualism. The problem with watching such a film in the 21st century is that every sceneis Iconic and Symbolic. It’s difficult to see the real movie under all the Iconography. No doubt it wasn’talways like this and I can’t (nor will I pretend to) imagine what it was like seeing this movie when it first opened. I came to see this movie to get past all of that and to be honest I was disappointed.

Why does Metropolis inspire such awe and reverence ?

It can’t be the set design - only film students and set designers go see a movie for its set design andeven for them that must be a chore. And it can’t be it’s exploration of technology’s impact on society.The film’s handling of this is heavy-handed and these themes are explored more subtly in other formats.I can only guess that the film’s now considerable age plays a part in it’s exalted status.

Before anyone goes accusing me of chronocentric bigotry let me state that I love ‘It’s a wonderful life’. That film may be over 50 years old but it is an absolute joy to watch and always will be. Metropolis hasnot aged so well - sadly. Watching Metropolis is like sitting through a political lecture - the movie feels professorial in tone and I left the cinema feeling like a browbeaten economics student.Charlie Chaplin’s “Modern Times” handles the same themes with considerable more flair and finesse.There is a lightness of touch in Chaplin’s film which is sadly lacking in Lang’s movie.Truth is - I feel amiss about disliking this film. I feel I must be fair to it - I can’t just dismiss itoutright which is why I’m taking great pains to nail this coffin shut. You must frame your thoughts verycarefully when dismissing a film that has such universal praise.

Metropolis the movie is populated by archetypes rather than characters. There is the hero ‘Joh Frederson’ - a young man troubled by the modern world. There is the iconic father ‘Freder’: depicted as some kindof Nietzchean demi-god presiding over the city. Gustav Frolich exudes a fierce individualistic streak downto the buttons on his immaculately tailored twead jacket. Brigitte Helm who plays the saint-like ‘Maria’ is the only actor who gets to flex muscle playing (later in the film) the robot. Leading a mob through the streets of metropolis , her head rolls about as if resting on ball-bearings. Her limbs twitch mechanically.She is clearly having a lot of fun and it is a joy to watch.

You can’t watch Metropolis without being reminded of other movies - it has clearly had enormous influence on other film-makers over the years. Andrew Niccol’s “Gattaca” - with it’s lush art-deco sets, it’s mutedgold and sepia-toned colors - is a thinly veiled homage to “Metropolis”. Niccol seems to be saying

Mr. Lang would you like to take a look at my project ? - About that film you made a while back - I’ve added color and dialogue

...Both movies are Clever and Beautiful to look at. Both films tackle Science and it’s social impact.However - neither feels like a movie you can love - they are both emotionally unengaging.It may sound strange but I really like “Gattaca” for precisely the same reasons I don’t like “Metropolis”.It’s an astute science fiction film with gorgeous sets, a suitably arian hero and a smouldering heroine.Metropolis is all of the above but it belongs to a different time and (crucially) a different mindset.

For me - ultimately - Metropolis is a ‘compass’ movie. A movie you see to establish your bearings in thewider world of Cinema, your like or dislike helps define you as a movie goer. That’s not what I’d planned, I had hoped that Metropolis would be so much more.