Metropia
(2009/Tribeca/New Video DVD)
Picture:
B- Sound: B- Extras: C+ Film: B
Tarik
Saleh’s Metropia (2009) pushes
boundaries in both its animation style and its message. This sci-fi thriller utilizes computer
animation and excellent voice talents (Vincent Gallo, Juliette Lewis, Alexander
Skarsgard, Udo Kier) to paint a dystopian picture of a future where the masses
of Europe move from point to point via a
mega-train. Vincent Gallo’s Roger
believes something is wrong with all of this.
A tiny voice in his head tells him something is amiss with the manner in
which the populace moves about the continent, and the messages they receive
while doing so.
Are the
passengers of these trains being subconsciously seduced and pacified by
messages from the mega-corporation that runs it? Roger makes the mistake of digging too deeply
as he probes for answers, while trying to resist the allure of the mysterious
Nina (ably played by Juliette Lewis).
Director and creator Tarik Saleh explores the idea of mass consumption
and its links to corporate and government influences. Metropia makes for equal parts mystery and
meditation, and its unique animation style highlights the brooding atmosphere. Dark, wet streets, shadowy transit tunnels,
and Kristin Linder’s haunting music suggest themes of isolation and
technological disassociation also found in precursor films like Blade Runner and Gattica.
Extras
are thin on this disc, but do include a brief documentary of director/creator
Saleh’s trip to the Tribeca film festival, and followed up by footage from the
red carpet at that same event.
Although
a trifle slow in parts, Metropia represents another important step in the
sci-fi genre’s adoption of new technologies with which to tell its
stories. Fans of dystopian visions of
the future will find a lot to ruminate over with this film.
- Scott Pyle
