METROPOLIS: The Masterpiece

SPOILERS AHEAD (marked in red)

The days have slugged past, and I, without realizing it, have slowed down along with it. I haven't gotten much done over the past few days of the holiday (and as I am writing this I owe monochromaticRAINBOWS two posts) but I've been sitting back and taking my time with everything, which, in hindsight, is probably not a very good thing. That was my revelation late last night, so this morning I woke up early and made myself useful--I even plucked up the willpower and the inspiration to write this post. :)

Only this is going to be a little different from the stuff I've been doing. Today I present to you a review of a movie I recently got a hold of. Sounds boring? I hope not. I honestly hope I'll be able to do the movie justice through this review. The movie is an animated piece, and in the past has won over the favor of various movie critics for the art as well as the storyline involved. It is the brainchild of a Japanese genius of animation by the name of Osamu Tezuka (known for the widely popular Astroboy) which ranks up there along with Howl's Moving Castle (ranked #13 by IMDb), and Spirited Away (ranked #1 by IMDb).


Some people may consider animated pieces of work not worth their time; especially since the aforementioned works all fall under the category of 'old-school' 2D animation. Further yet, these masterpieces of fine art are seriously stereotyped for falling under the category of Japanese anime--along with the likes of Sailor Moon and other 'ridiculous' pieces of 'rubbish' (I say these in quotation marks because opinions differ, and I will personally suspend judgment in the matter). These issues came to mind because I myself was at first disinterested. One, because I assumed Japanese anime could only go so far so well as a movie, despite the wildly positive reviews. Secondly because I am finicky when it comes to how things look, and I didn't like Osamu Tezuka's knack for putting gigantic lashes on his characters.

Just a few days ago I set aside my ridiculous 'prejudices' and watched Spirited Away. I thought that I would just grin and bear it; and if it turned out to be lackluster, so be it--I was just trying to spend time.
Perhaps it was because I expected so little that I ended up being so impressed. I wasn't exactly willing to admit I was wrong, so I thought to myself that it wasn't so bad. I personally cannot believe it took me so long to discover something this great.

I went on ahead and tried to find what other all-time animated movies ranked high up the list (Spirited Away is ranked #1 by IMDb!), and came across Metropolis through another ranking list. Watching Metropolis, I discovered a newfound respect for Japanese directors, animators and writers. There are times when I would watch a movie after reading a review on it and I would think that it fell short of the expectations the review had set me up for; but METROPOLIS is nothing like that. Even after reading reviews by movie critics on the movie, I still found more things to appreciate in the movie; details that suggested a certain sense of intricate dedication in the making of the film.

So what, exactly, is the movie like? Why is it so good? One of the reasons (which I myself actually hadn't noticed at all) is that the movie has been hailed as a great achievement in animation for smooth transitions between slides, as well as the quality of production and attention to detail in the character, building, and background designs. The other reason (which I thought could make it good materials for an English blog post), is that METROPOLIS is truly a literary treasure, presented in the silver screen, meaning that instead of proceeding as a mindless transition from opening-to-problem-to-solution, the plot and characters have backgrounds and political, spiritual and cultural settings that attach a unique kind of value to them.

METROPOLIS tells the story of a fictional metropolis (duh?), which is dystopian and also plutocratic--stereotypically indicational of good literature in my ears :). A plutocracy is where the power and the benefits of a good life are contained only within the affluent and high social class; the rest of the population is left to flounder, and more often than not is made to support the cushy lives of the high and powerful. This is also true of Metropolis, where there is social laddering not only in humans; but it is further complicated by the presence of robots, which humans insist do not have the right to have human names (trespassing on the territory of exclusively human rights), among other things.

The story begins with the announcement of the completion of the Ziggurat--a reference to the biblical Tower of Babel that eventually fell to ruin and caused the scattering of peoples to all corners of the earth--and the supposed coming of a new dawn for the city as a leading force in technology and a powerhouse of all might and wealth. Involved in the upcoming application of the Ziggurat is a recently completed robot superbeing by the name of Tima, who is rescued by an unknowing Kenichi from the ruins of the lab after her creator is killed. Over a few quick hours Tima develops a deep attachment to Kenichi, especially after being manhandled, carried, dragged, and driven in a rickshaw by him to get away from Rock, a member of the Marduk party (Marduk is the head honcho in the Babylonian gods' hierarchy) who serves Duke Red and is jealous of the attention Duke Red (as a father-figure to him) is pouring on Tima (who was modelled after his deceased daughter).

Eventually Tima is captured; Kenichi tortured and reduced to a limp puppet, and having discovered she isn't human like her beloved Kenichi, Tima proceeds to take her assigned place at the top of the Ziggurat on a 'throne' from which she will control the whole world for Duke Red (or so he assumes).

Things, however, don't go according to plan. Tima's 'unstable energy' (the way Duke Red explained her emotions to her) led her to decide she had no need for humans. Using the Ziggurat she takes control over the world's technological weapons and aims them at human population hotspots around the globe, and also arranges for the creation of a biological weapon to annihilate all mankind. Kenichi snaps to; just in time, and follows Tima into the darkness of the Ziggurat's heart. He wrenches her from the throne, but the Ziggurat has 'completed' her programming and she doesn't remember him anymore. At the end, the entire Ziggurat falls apart as a result of the overwhelming data provided by Tima, killing Duke Red and Rock (who meant well when he pressed the button of the superweapon used to destroy robots, but it resulted in the destruction of the entire monolithic monument).

Even through that not so brief synopsis it is not difficult for us to perceive just how much detail goes into METROPOLIS as a literary piece. Osamu Tezuka indeed even drew his inspiration from other works that helped shape his wondrous fantasy universe, including, among all else, the silent movie Metropolis by Fritz Lang, which also involved a female robot and is said to have given birth to the idea of Tima. There is also great detail in its art--for me especially, the architectural designs of the city of Metropolis and the Ziggurat are eye-candy and demand some sort of recognition from its viewers.

Of course the movie is not perfect, and indeed has its shortcomings. Most prominently is the way the entire story ended. Kenichi looks through the debris to try and find Tima, but has to face the fact that she is gone, as robots (who have returned to their senses) crowd around him, each cradling a part of Tima, most notably a robot named Fifi who helped them earlier in their escape from Rock, holding Tima's heart (a human heart, as she is made out of both human and non-human parts). Kenichi walks away with the robots, and the screen changes to a shot of Tima's treasured radio, which she obtained around the beginning of the story. The radio crackles and asks "Who am I?" the first words Tima said, and the movie ends. The problem with this ending is that Tima, who seemed to have been slowly developing an identity of her own, is apparently incapable of defeating the greatest stumbling block; her human/robot nature, and apparently falls into oblivion never having resolved the issue. It doesn't do her as a main character much justice, and it further complicates the tangle of loose ends that the story leaves off with.

In the original Japanese version, the movie ends with a photograph of Kenichi in front of a store named "Kenichi and Tima Robot Company", while a figure that is heavily reminiscent of Tima stands in the display.
It isn't clear if Kenichi put her back together, or if the figure indeed is just a figurine. This doesn't do the story much good, plot-wise.

Despite the disappointing ending (it leaves off enough loose ends for us to be able to expect some sort of sequel, I suppose?), METROPOLIS overall is a marvellous piece of work as a movie, and in that, as a highly interesting and well-composed literary piece. I'd recommend this movie for anyone willing to put their brains into gear and explore the many open-ended questions you'll be faced with throughout the entire movie. My synopsis doesn't explain it as well as I hoped it would, so you have more to expect from METROPOLIS than any review can ever tell you; that is, if you're ready to chew it over yourself.