Metropolis

I recently watched Metropolis for the first time. It is regularly on lists of the best sci-fi films of all time. It is a futuristic (the year 2000) view of a society broken into the powerful who live and work in the skyscrapers, and the poor who toil in the underground working on machines that power the city above. It is very much about class differences and needing someone to bridge the gap between rich and poor. That “someone” is the son of the head of the City who falls in love with Maria, a woman who tells the underground workers about a “mediator” between the “head” (the city’s masters) and the “hands” (those who work underground). The images in the film are remarkable. I can see their reflection in many subsequent movies including Blade Runner. C3PO looks very close to the Man-Machine that plays a key part in the story. For those who enjoy sci-fi, they will see a lot here. So is it appropriate for kids? Surely any kid as young as 8 or 9 could follow it and there are no particularly objectionable scenes. There is a frankly weird scene of men leering at the Man-Machine who has taken on Maria’s form. There is also a flood that imperils many children, and one of the characters is burned at the stake. Still, it does not come across as frightening. The real questions are whether your kids will sit through a long, silent movie, how they will react to the speeded-up action scenes, and how they will respond to the sometimes overwrought acting. A child who is willing to watch it while appreciating that certain things will look different or appear odd is going to get a lot more out of it than someone who is likely to goof on it because certain things look strange. That’s why I think the age range is for younger teens and up. By the way, you want to find the version of the movie called The Complete Metropolis or Metropolis Restored. Earlier edits of the film apparently are missing important plot points.