Metropolis Film Analysis

METROPOLIS

The German expressionist filmmaker used subjective emotion rather than objective reality to depict how a person reacts to objects and events that surround that person.This is accomplished using distortion, exaggeration and fantasy. The elements of film are presented in vivid,jarring and sometimes violent form. Fritz Lang incorporated these concepts within a surreal and futuristic world to tell the time honored story of the struggle between rich and poor.

The workers of Metropolis were depicted as a slowly moving monolith as they trudged back and forth from their mind numbing toil. They lived in an underground city, providing the thinkers who lived above ground with the power to not only survive, but thrive. The exaggerated way the workers behave is

The fantastical things we dream about are quickly forgotten when we awake. This movie by Luis Bunel and Salvador Dali is one of the first attempts to remember those dreams on film.

The movie is loosely based on the dreams of the filmmakers themselves.
Bunel dreamed of a cloud slicing through the moon like a knife slicing through an eyeball. Dali dreamed of ants covering the hand of a man. Both scenarios are played out in ways that are irrational and disturbing, which is the intent of the filmmakers.

The visual dynamic in surrealistic filmmaking is paramount. The audience is shown an ever progressing series of fantastical situations in which we are left to interpret the meaning rather than be told what to think. The film becomes a moving work of art rather than a narration. The scene that includes the grand pianos covered with dead animals and clergy being dragged through the apartment is a prime example of art over story.

In fact, there is no story. This is rather a conglomeration of ideas that cannot be true. The intent of the surrealist is to shock the viewer, not to reinforce