Not Coming to a Theater Near You

Screening Log, January 2009

Metropolis
Germany / 1927

Just a week after being moved by Eva’s story about not getting a chance to see Metropolis on the big screen, I found myself attending the Brattle Theatre’s free screening of the silent classic. The coincidence made me particularly mindful of my good fortune; a great rep cinema is hard to find. As for the film itself: books can, and certainly have, been written on the subject – from its tortured history of reediting and truncation to its visual potency and tangled web of thematic concerns, Metropolis is a film to be grappled with. What stood out, for me, on this viewing, was how powerfully the film’s stark futuristic vision of urban anxiety and industrial malaise lingers; Metropolis’ frightening depiction of a mechanized society (epitomized by a nightmare vision of human workers being literally sacrificed to a machine) really isn’t softened by the story’s pat and rather forgettable ending. I keep coming back Brigitte Helm’s vividly fiendish turn as the robotic doppelganger of the film’s heroine, Maria. “Let’s watch the world go to the devil!” she suggests gleefully, and later laughs at the hordes who’ve gathered to burn her at the stake. She’s the kind of vice character who fascinates and terrifies us (the kind more recently incarnated by Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight, happily watching the world burn) because regardless of who’s pulling the false Maria’s strings, her pleasure in bringing the world to its knees is a horror rivaled only by the ease with which she does it. The reasons for Metropolis’ continued resonance are myriad, and its still-stunning visuals and far-ranging stylistic influence certainly top the list, but there’s also something quite compelling about how it dramatizes our worst fears about ourselves.

Rumsey’s full review/Matt’s full review

by Victoria Large | Source: 35MM Print
10 Jan 2009 7:00 PM | Comments (1)

Comments / 1 total / Submit Comment

1. Eva
   13 January 2009
   2:32 PM
   Website

   What a funny coincidence! I’m glad you got the chance to see it.

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