On Demand Weekly

METROPIA: Tribeca Film On DemandApril 27, 2010

Tribeca Film

The 2010 Tribeca Film Festival has begun in New York City. New this year is a selection of films available to watch the same day on VOD.

On Demand Weekly provides new movie reviews of hot movies on demand from the POV of watching from the comfort of your home. Today’s review: Metropia.

Director Tarik Saleh began as a Swedish graffiti artist whose father was a stop-motion animator. He initially never wanted to be involved in animation (it’s an art for cloistered nutters) until he found a method of utilizing the popular effects software After Effects to develop a new animation technique. Once he found his method, he developed characters and a look that would be the foundation for Metropia. All he needed was financing…

Metropia tells the story of Roger, a worker cog in a future European dystopia (2024) where the varied countries have been linked by subway and the majority spend their lives underground. Roger works in a cubicle making calls and has a lifeless relationship with his girlfriend. One day he hears a voice in his head giving him commands and strangely decides to follow an attractive woman he recognizes from his shampoo bottle label. A few decisions later, Roger finds himself at the center of a bizarre corporate conspiracy including a central figurehead and the beginnings of a mind-reading industry determined to control people’s thoughts and actions (involving, predictably, Television - but unpredictably, shampoo).

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