There is and will always be something really special about a film that is so unapologetically unique and beautiful it becomes iconic in every frame of its runtime. And for a piece based on a Tezuka manga, it's more than due justice.
Working as a retelling of sorts of Fritz Lang's all-time classic Metropolis, plus the cultural digestion of decades of cinema and Tezuka's works to influence this re-imagining, Metropolis tells the story of a fragmented society, with glimmers of technology tainted by the elegant flair of the hopeful future of the early 20th century, where the sights are monumental and the streets are filled with the propaganda of the Duke Red's hubris filled promise of progress beyond the stars. Such sights have all been brilliantly realized with stunning, but sometimes sloppily experimental panoramics and animated pans, most of the film (funnily enough) fells like an tech demo to what computers will allow animation to do in the future (this being a 2001 film, after all). The world fells eternally engulfed in patterns, skyscrapers and complex steam machinery, making every frame an adventure to explore, nontheless. The world of Metropolis is fascinating to explore. One that, as familiar as it might seem considering the reprise of the themes of Lang's original in cinema since then, still stands out with a smooth and sombre, yet elegant portrayal of Tezuka's timely sensibilities. His iconic artstyle springs to life in a way that it makes me regret not seeing it more often in animated and/or film form anymore, complimented with a cinematography that could make the traditional live-action student film blush and a soundtrack that hasn't aged a day. Seriously. A 1:1 translation of this on live action would not look wrong. It's just that good. In that sense, at least...
Now, sadly, as much as I would sing this film endless praises, it doesn't allow for such. Whereas the beautiful character-driven animation gives our protagonists a lot of personality, there's not a lot of them to go around in the runtime. Its greatest enemy is its execution of the idea of the plot. Although this movie served to me as a lesson as to how effective exposition can be when implied, it still lacked several points in it's stitching, and over did it others. The film's desire to explore the more Tetsuwan-Atom-inspired sociopolitics of the relationship with men and machine (and with how much the main character mirrors the story of Astro Boy) seemed to overshadow the curious appeal of the little characters, specially with a lacking resolution to it. The big grandiose world makes a fantastic job on making the characters feel small and fragile, but the plot doesn't fully succeed in grounding them and making them stand out from the visages. Characters who should be identified as primary, or even secondary don't get a balanced screentime that highlights them, and character arcs, instead of feeling satisfyingly circular, become repetitive in their development. Pacing issues could have also had us see more of the world in more plot-fulfilling ways.
It is unfortunate that it's story and pacing hinder this film's overall potential, but it wasn't enough to disappoint me from experiencing it (one that was quite the hustle to find with subs as well :s). It was one I was greatly looking forward to see, and one that definitely pleased my eyes in earnest. It's a classic that deserves to be revisited, both by aspiring animators who want inspiring visuals to put on their walls, and visionaries who wish to revisit Tezuka's vision of one of the most iconic fictional concepts of all time. One that frames a future that, the closer we get to it, feels nothing more than certain.
(the ost of this film is also a very hearty recommendation. I've had "el bombero" stuck to my head since yesterday. Help.)
(also, forever glory to besto girl Tima. We really should bring back Tezuka's good hairstyle sensibilities)
Working as a retelling of sorts of Fritz Lang's all-time classic Metropolis, plus the cultural digestion of decades of cinema and Tezuka's works to influence this re-imagining, Metropolis tells the story of a fragmented society, with glimmers of technology tainted by the elegant flair of the hopeful future of the early 20th century, where the sights are monumental and the streets are filled with the propaganda of the Duke Red's hubris filled promise of progress beyond the stars. Such sights have all been brilliantly realized with stunning, but sometimes sloppily experimental panoramics and animated pans, most of the film (funnily enough) fells like an tech demo to what computers will allow animation to do in the future (this being a 2001 film, after all). The world fells eternally engulfed in patterns, skyscrapers and complex steam machinery, making every frame an adventure to explore, nontheless. The world of Metropolis is fascinating to explore. One that, as familiar as it might seem considering the reprise of the themes of Lang's original in cinema since then, still stands out with a smooth and sombre, yet elegant portrayal of Tezuka's timely sensibilities. His iconic artstyle springs to life in a way that it makes me regret not seeing it more often in animated and/or film form anymore, complimented with a cinematography that could make the traditional live-action student film blush and a soundtrack that hasn't aged a day. Seriously. A 1:1 translation of this on live action would not look wrong. It's just that good. In that sense, at least...
Now, sadly, as much as I would sing this film endless praises, it doesn't allow for such. Whereas the beautiful character-driven animation gives our protagonists a lot of personality, there's not a lot of them to go around in the runtime. Its greatest enemy is its execution of the idea of the plot. Although this movie served to me as a lesson as to how effective exposition can be when implied, it still lacked several points in it's stitching, and over did it others. The film's desire to explore the more Tetsuwan-Atom-inspired sociopolitics of the relationship with men and machine (and with how much the main character mirrors the story of Astro Boy) seemed to overshadow the curious appeal of the little characters, specially with a lacking resolution to it. The big grandiose world makes a fantastic job on making the characters feel small and fragile, but the plot doesn't fully succeed in grounding them and making them stand out from the visages. Characters who should be identified as primary, or even secondary don't get a balanced screentime that highlights them, and character arcs, instead of feeling satisfyingly circular, become repetitive in their development. Pacing issues could have also had us see more of the world in more plot-fulfilling ways.
It is unfortunate that it's story and pacing hinder this film's overall potential, but it wasn't enough to disappoint me from experiencing it (one that was quite the hustle to find with subs as well :s). It was one I was greatly looking forward to see, and one that definitely pleased my eyes in earnest. It's a classic that deserves to be revisited, both by aspiring animators who want inspiring visuals to put on their walls, and visionaries who wish to revisit Tezuka's vision of one of the most iconic fictional concepts of all time. One that frames a future that, the closer we get to it, feels nothing more than certain.
(the ost of this film is also a very hearty recommendation. I've had "el bombero" stuck to my head since yesterday. Help.)
(also, forever glory to besto girl Tima. We really should bring back Tezuka's good hairstyle sensibilities)