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Disclosure: I'm over the dystopian future being juiced dry by the massive global bad guy/corporation storyline. Not that there is anything wrong with the concept, and perhaps it is more prophesy than fiction.  But unless you can do it better than Robocop, I would rather just wait for my robot/alien/corporate overlord in peace while watching a movie about a college road trip gone wacky. But to its credit, Metropia, does bring something new--at least visually, and, in this case, that might be enough. 

Read more after the jump!
It's 2024, and the lack of natural resources has forced Europe underground, using a subway system called Trexx. A massive system that links all the metro systems of Europe into one commuter rail, Trexx leaves the need or ability to function above ground unnecessary.  Surrounded by blank faces and a blank life, Roger, a Swedish call center drone, is coasting through existence highlighted only by the advertisement for shampoo and the promise of the shampoo spokesmodel Nina. Roger is boring, paranoid and dealing with a voice in his head. A chance meeting on the train bring Roger in proximity to Nina, which kicks off the lifting of the curtain and exposes the justification for his paranoia.  

The freshman narrative film from Tarik Saleh, the Swedish documentarian, not only provides a bleak vision of the human race, but does so in an animation style so distinctive and beautiful it is hard not to be distracted by the new art unfolding with each scene.  Almost photorealistic but shot through a fun house mirror, everyone in the film is distinct but blank.  The film's palette is appropriately muddled and lacking life. This lack of pop only helps to punctuate the stark beauty of the animation.  This film will certainly be a benchmark for animation styles, much like Bakshi or the rotoscope animation of A Scanner Darkly.   

The voice acting, similarly, is pleasantly generic. Roger, voiced by Vincent Gallo, is spectacularly unspectacular, to the extent that you have to wonder if his involvement in this global conspiracy is a dream because there is no way this human scoop of vanilla could not be this involved in anything.  Likewise Juliette Lewis as Nina is genericly sexy and convincing, like the bartender at a tourist shot bar.  Perhaps the genius is in the normalcy of it all.  Meanwhile Roger begins to discover all of the technology, conspiracy and commuters, are just pieces of a machine, delivering a system that serves the massive Trexx corporation. 

Metropia's storyline tends to drag in parts, and once the coaster starts rolling, it becomes less and less plausible.  That said, if you are a fan of cutting edge adult-focused animation Metropia is still worth the time investment. 

--Greg Wilson
 


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