Osamu Tezuka's Metropolis (2001)

Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis is based on the 1949 manga by Osamu Tezuka, the most influential name in manga and anime. Osamu Tezuka himself admits that the idea was based on the image of the female robot in the Fritz Lang classic from 1927, though he himself hadn’t seen the film (quoted from the afterword in Metropolis). Through Rintaro’s direction, all the characters in the film have been lovingly modeled after Tezuka’s designs and are presented very cartoony and a bit reminiscent of early Disney, who was an influence on Tezuka. This contrast with the darker themes and violence makes for some incredibly interesting scenes.

The story follows a young Kenichi (Kei Kobayashi) and his private investigator Uncle from Japan on the trail of a criminal mad scientist supposedly hiding out in the futuristic and massive city of Metropolis. The scientist is working for a man named Duke Red (Tarô Ishida), who is a political figure and the head of a Nazi-esque group of vigilante activists known as the Maldukes. Duke Red has been funding the mad doctor in order to have a supreme being built in the form of a young girl named Tima (Yuka Imoto) so that it may take its place atop the ziggurat and thus remake the world in his image. There are a lot of interesting and unique characters from the detective Shunsaku Ban (Kōsei Tomita), the robot cop Pero (Norio Wakamoto), a young revolutionary named Atlus (Norihiro Inoue), but one of the most engaging characters in the film is Rock (Kouki Okada), the leader of the Marduks who was brought up by Duke Red himself. His reverence and admiration of Duke Red, who he considers his father, is the motivation for all of his actions, no matter how cruel. Easily the most conflicted character in the film, most of the major conflicts develop as a result of his actions. It is interesting to note that the character of Rock did not actually appear in the original graphic novel. Instead what he really represents is a signature from Katsuhiro Ôtomo (director and writer of Steamboy, and more famously, Akira), who wrote the screenplay.

Almost overshadowing all the characters and the complex narrative is the city itself. Metropolis is a colossal city divided into three levels, or zones. Zone 1 is the surface, which includes all the major sky-scrapers and malls and commercial districts. There is still an ominous presence even there with the constant announcement over the intercoms throughout the city and the ever-patrolling Marduks who are heavily armed and ready to brutally murder any robot caught outside its designated zone. The laws of Metropolis regarding robots are strict and uncompromising, which is revealed right at the start of the film. Zone 2 is more of a slum where the majority of the citizens live and Zone 3 is the sewers and garbage facilities which are nearly exclusively inhabited by robots and machines. There is little sky that peaks in through the cracks of the ceiling in Zone 2 and still the environment, though grungy and covered in shadows, is beautiful to look at.

The animation in this film is stunning and incredibly detailed, seamlessly combining traditional cell animation with computer generated images. The shots of the city, on any level, are breath-taking and gigantic in scope. The top level of the city has buildings like mountains and the Ziggurat, the futuristic equivalent of the Tower of Babylon, is the crowning achievement, the top of which extends above the clouds. Rintaro’s vision of the city was clearly more influenced by the Fritz Lang film the Tezuka was in his original story. The score is terrific as well, incorporating a 1930s-esqu jazz feel to it that matches the art style and suits the tone of the film. The main theme in particular is very catchy and memorable. There is also a great use of Ray Charles’ “I Can’t Stop Loving You” towards the end of the film that, in the way it’s used, adds a very Kubrickian feel to the climax.

Well paced and captivating to the eye, Osama Tezuka’s Metropolis is a visual spectacle that is nearly unmatched in it’s scope and view of a future that has claimed to have reached the pinnacle of human advancement and is therefore plagued with corruption and violence. At its heart the film poses the question of what it means to be human. This is shown through the innocence of Tima and her relationship with Kenichi. While this is by no means a groundbreaking concept, in this form it feels fresh and more comprehensible. Osamu Tezuka’s Metropolis is masterpiece in animation and a film that needs to be seen to truly appreciate.

Underground (1995)

Directed by Emir Kusturica, Underground is the story of two friends, Marko (Miki Manojilovic) and Blacky (Lazar Ristovski) who fall for the same woman in Serbia during WWII. The story leads them through the cold war and finally the Yugoslav wars. In part one, entitled “War”, it is easy to assume that this film is an absurd comedy. The characters are all crazy in their own way and don't really fit in with the times that they are living. Blacky is a strong, but stupid patriot who after attempting to marry Natalija (Mirjana Jokovic) gets captured by the Germans. His friend Marko busts him out and hides his injured friend in an underground bunker in order to protect him. In part two it is revealed that he also used the opportunity to marry Natalija for himself and profit off of his and Blacky’s WWII stories while keeping Blacky and other family members and friends underground making guns so that he can continue selling them for years to come.

The tone between parts one and two shifts pretty drastically as the humor becomes less crazy and much darker and more satirical, giving the film a very bizarre and surreal atmosphere and quality. The satire of Serbia’s relationship to the war becomes evident as the characters and their entire universe becomes so detached from what would normally be perceived as reality in those times. Their reactions to everything are ludicrous and often humorous. Marko summarizes every character and the movie’s view on the subject matter with the great line:

“We're all crazy. We just haven't been diagnosed yet.”

The film has a dark view of the country and its people showing imagery symbolizing that the country, as a result of its citizens, doesn’t even belong with the rest of the world. Their country is one of deception, insanity, death, and violence. It doesn't simpily fall apart; it is torn apart from within. This dark and deranged world-view is sharply contrasted with the humor of the film and for this the tone is often erratic. That’s not to say that this is a bad film, but it certainly won’t sit right with everyone, regardless of whether or not they agree with the perspective taken by Emir Kusturica.

One thing certainly worth mentioning about this film is the mise-en-scene. The underground layer, which is meant to be both a time capsule of a different time as well as a prison both physical and mental, is a cluttered mess of references and memorabilia. These items turn the underground into its own parallel universe, but the insanity and outrageous antics of the cast keep it from feeling too nostalgic. In some ways, it is similar to the situation and apartment building portrayed in Goodbye, Lenin! as Underground involves the protagonist deceiving someone close to him into thinking that it is still a time that the world has already left behind. The clutter is a constant with this film and often the viewer can feel overwhelmed by the multitude of on-screen action. Though this is by no means a perfect film, or even a great film, there is certainly a topic here worth discussing and the film has enough in it (to a flaw) that makes each viewing different from before. I recommend it with a note of caution.

An Education (2009)

Set in a pre-Beatles London, An Education follows a 16 year-old girl named Jenny. She’s shown early on to be exceptionally bright and mature for her age and is pressured into getting into Oxford which according to both her parents and her teachers, is the only means for her survival in the real world. Getting into Oxford requires a significant amount of study and hard work leaving little time for anything else. While waiting at a bus stop in the rain she meets a sly and charming older man named David, who immediately takes a liking to her and shows her a life filled with fun, nice restaurants, clubs, concerts, and even weekend excursions. Everything is great until the reality presented by David turns out to be much different than she thought.

To start, a major highlight of An Education is the acting. Carey Mulligan as Jenny is captivating and very good in her performance as a young girl who, though very mature for her age, is not experienced in life as she learns by meeting David and his friends. By now there have been many comparisons to Audrey Hepburn and they are not unfounded. In fact, I would argue that this comparison was intended by director Lon Scherfig. There is a scene before she is whisked away to Paris in which she borrows David’s friend Helen’s (Rosamund Pike) clothes. The outfit she wears is a black sleeveless dress with her hair done up. The montage scene of her in Paris consists of her looking wide-eyed and innocent as she marvels at the surroundings and David takes pictures of her posing for the audience. The scene itself feels spiritually like a scene right out of Roman Holiday. That being said, Carey Mulligan does a wonderful job and easily lives up to the comparison; she is both a talented actress and an ideal subject for the camera. Peter Sarsgaard has a flawless British accent and is good at playing a charming older man, while giving a few subtle hints about his true nature, so that it isn’t out of left field when it is fully revealed on screen. This is also a major credit to director Lon Scherfig who employs enough subtlety and is unwilling to overly dramatize any scene keeping the films tone consistent while avoiding melodrama. Of all the supporting cast members, the one most worth mentioning is Alfred Molina as Jenny’s father. He just barely keeps from being over-the-top and despite some of the awful things that he may say, proves to be very funny and fleshed out and as a character.

A major aspect of what the film is about is the future prospects of a young woman growing up in 1961 London, and I think that it is for this reason that the characters in the film never seem to make a big deal out of the taboo romantic relationship of an underage girl with a considerably older man. For a young woman of the time, there are few options for a future. The film shows them as Oxford or marriage, with a better future leaning towards marriage. When Jenny asks her parents what is more important, an education or marriage, their response is surprising. The limited options of women is best shown in a great scene in which she asks her headmistress, played in a small role by Emma Thompson, what the point of all the study and hard work is. In the argument she describes a boring future of study and hard work leading only to more hard work and asks “what is it all for?” The answer is both depressing and uncertain.

The only real complaint I have with the film is the ending scenes. I don’t mean the way it ends, but the way the ending scenes are filmed: after the main plot involving David ends, the film sort of rushes towards completion without fully addressing a few details. It leaves the audience questioning just how certain things connected and is a little unsatisfying. There is also a narration that is sort of surprising because it’s first and only use is during the last scene. It’s a shame because it is a really good film otherwise. Aside from my little gripe about the way the ending is shot, I recommend this film as it is not only entertaining but an interesting look a different time with some very good performances.

Brazil (1985)

Named after the Ary Barroso song “Brazil” from the 30s, director Terry Gilliam tells a bizarre and darkly comical science-fiction story set in a dystopian future (though now it’s the past as it takes place “somewhere in the 20th century”). The song “Brazil” is played throughout the film as a recurring theme song, but it never really fits in with what appears on screen; the upbeat tempo and fun feeling of the song contrast greatly with the cluttered, chaotic, and often faulty world that is the city in Brazil. The film begins by showing a mistake in the system caused by an insect being killed by a bureaucrat. This little incident changes one letter of a man’s name shown on a strange computer that leads that man to be arrested in his home. This event sets off a chain reaction that affects the entire plot. Sam Lowry (Jonathon Pryce) is a lowly employee for the government in a lesser department of information. He has no ambition and likes it that way as he spends most of his time unnoticed and daydreaming while doing his boss’s (Ian Holm) work for him. While attempting to fix the computer problem involving the man who was wrongfully taken and tortured and killed, he sees the woman of his dreams (Kim Greist) living in the same apartment complex as the man. He is determined to find her and even takes a promotion in order to have access to do so. As a result he finds himself involved with terrorists (one being played by Robert De Niro) and even becomes a target of the government.

The world of Brazil is strange and fascinating to look at. The details in every scene are at times overwhelming; you could watch this film again and again and find something different in almost every shot. The world itself is run by a militaristic government that is also flooded with paperwork. It’s like a bureaucratic nightmare. After a woman’s husband is arrested and forcefully removed from his house at gunpoint, she must then fill out the appropriate forms and accept her receipt. This forced order makes life miserable and everything that people do is like a visit to the DMV. There are overly-complicated appliances everywhere; the phone requires a specific plug to be connected to a button based on whose calling, the elevators have a confusing way of entering information and break down, and the computers and televisions have screens so small that they require a gigantic lens in order to see them. This is particularly amusing today as small screens are quite popular with iPods, hand held videogames, and cell phones.

There is also an obsession with tubes in this film as they seemingly connect everything together and in certain scenes, such as when Sam’s apartment is taken apart, really convey an image of technology gone awry in a tangled mess. The people working in cell-like offices are given numbers on their doors instead of names and everything in the building looks the same. The city and the people in it seem to be modeled in part after the 30s or 40s style, but with an odd mixture of technology thrown in, highly reminiscent of Fritz Lang's Metropolis or even Gotham City from Tim Burton's Batman and the animated film, Mask of the Phantasm. As mentioned before, the technology is defective and this combination of retro and futuristic seems very surreal.

The “future” of Brazil is horrifying, but the way it is portrayed is often very humorous. Aside from the incredibly high amount of jokes found in the background of various scenes be they audio or visual, there are simple absurdities that are shown in various aspects of the society in terms of their rules and general ways of doing things. For instance, when a person is to be arrested and taken away, aside from officers smashing down the doors and leaping in through every available window, they also need to enter in from the floor above by cutting a circle large enough for them to attach a pole for men to slide down from. It’s completely unnecessary and odd, but I found myself chuckling the first time I saw it. Though there are never any laugh-out-loud moments, there is never a scene without a strange little oddity that makes it amusing, like when Sam meets his friend Jack (played by Monty Python’s Michael Palin) who tortures people for the government. In the office outside the torture room, the secretary wears headphones and works as a stenographer writing down literally everything that is being said, including the various sounds of anguish. This shouldn’t be funny, but for some reason it comes off quite humorously. Terry Gillaim's direction keeps the film not only consistent, but completely engaging visually. He films each scene so carefilly and so specifically that you'll find yourself unable to look away despite not fully understanding.

The only means of escape in this world seem to be through consumerism, vanity, and dreams. For the general public it is consumerism which makes the film being set around Christmas more fitting. A girl sitting on Santa’s lap asks him for a credit card and (my favorite example) before one gets tortured the guards tell him not to hold out too long or his credit rating will be ruined. Sam’s mother (Katherine Helmond) and her friend are both obsessed with plastic surgery, while one prefers the doctor using a knife while the other prefers the acid treatment (with disastrous results). For Sam, his escape is his dreams. In his dreams he is a winged knight flying in the sky and searching for his dream woman. These sexual fantasies make him not only the hero, but free from the world that he exists in. They are visually interesting scenes as well featuring strange beings that begin to bleed into the real world as the story progresses. Brazil is a film that demands repeated viewings not only to fully grasp what appears on screen, but to really take everything in. There are few films quite like it.