Osamu Tezuka’s classic 1949 manga Metropolis was inspired by an article in one of his mother’s movie magazines. The 21-year-old artist had only seen a single photo from Fritz Lang’s classic 1927 film, but his imagination was captured by the idea of a robot society. Working in occupied Japan, in a firebombed city where the dispossessed and orphaned were still close to starvation, he created a powerful polemic about discrimination, social injustice and what humanity really means.
For this 2001 film, director Rintaro and scriptwriter Katsuhiro Otomo retained the passion of the original while changing many of the details and characters. Tezuka fans from boyhood, the pair have delivered a beautiful and compelling film, steeped in the spirit of Tezuka’s original comic but taking full advantage of the technology available at the turn of the millennium. It’s an adult movie in the best sense of the word, but intelligent older children would find nothing to offend and much to enjoy.