In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior...
WHAT I LIKED: In 'Metropolis,' Fritz Lang uses his revolutionary expressionist imagery to portray class dynamics and worker exploitation in an extremely visceral way.
His production realises a dystopian city where we see workers plodding comedically in droves, toiling away at giant machines underground, working themselves to exhaustion, and even having their lives taken in accidents, then all the while the rich and powerful spend their days in pleasure gardens and oppulent leisure facilities.
That kind of exploitation and contrast in lifestyles is all too familiar, and the exaggerated imagery adds vivid life to that truth with its striking cinematography, caricature acting, and huge production design.
WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: The story follows one of the rich (Gustav Frohlich) trying to find a working girl that he's fallen in love with (Brigitte Helm) and then mediating with the workers; the intended theme being that love can transcend and heal division ("the mediator between the head and the hands must be the heart"). That's as bullshit as it sounds, as it ultimately involves him quelling a violent worker revolution which is causing the city to destabilise, and instead getting the poor to shake hands with the rich so that everything can end happily every after. Appropriating the ideas of revolution but basically keeping everything the same is a very fascist ideology, and that's something that's long been said about this film, not least because it was penned by Lang's would-be Nazi wife Thea Von Harbou.
But beyond any of its glaring ideological issues, what really hinders the potential impact of 'Metropolis,' is its overly satirical style. Of course, expressionism is all about exaggerating aspects of reality to point the finger at them, but the frantic, wide-eyed performances and endless explanation cards make it feel like the film is drumming its points home rather than letting you emotionally engage with its story. And that's especially exhausting in a film where all of the points are basically fascist.
VERDICT: 'Metropolis,' must be commended for its incredible imagery, but it is ultimately a piece of fascist propaganda, and one which drives its points home with exhausting force.
