“Summer of Film #6 of 100”:http://www.devanshanu.com/things/2005/06/12/2005-summer-of-film/
Metropolis or Metoroporisu is a Japanese animated visual fantasy by Rintaro that shares imagery with the “1926 Fritz Lang classic silent”:http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0017136/ by the same name. The story is set in a futuristic city where there is unrest between the robots and the humans. A Japanese private detective and his nephew come to the sprawling futuristic city of Metropolis to investigate a mad scientist accused, among other things, of human rights violations. What they discover is political machinations and intrigue between the many layers of the city; from the tall Ziggurat built in the city to the underground levels infested with defunct robots and thugs. The man behind the political unrest, Duke Red, has employed the scientist to build him a super-robot; a girl, Teema, to rule the Metropolis and replace his dead daughter. The movie’s strength lies in its visuals and in the inner struggle of Teema and the city in general about what it means to be human. The visuals are more intriguing than the plot- though I have to admit I saw an English-dubbed version and could have been the victim of the lost-in-translation syndrome.