In an industry saturated with Pixar and DreamWorks animated films, Metropia is certainly on the unusual side. Not only are the characters created using a less conventional process, after which they are comprised of over 80 movable layers, but their story is made to feel real. There’s nothing wrong with an old man flying his house to Paradise Falls via balloon, but it likely (and hopefully) won’t inspire anyone to do the same. Metropia’s fictional telling, on the other hand, has a powerful message to deliver and is one that can legitimately impact our lives.
In the future the world is running out of resources and one company controls Europe’s subway system. Hesitant to venture down into the Metro, Roger opts to be the odd man out and ride his bike above ground. When he finds his bike mangled he has no choice but to conform and join everyone else down below. Upon going to the lower level, Roger starts hearing a voice in his head, one that’s not his own. That voices come from Alexander Skarsgard’s character, Stephen, a company employee doing what he’s told, but bothered by his job’s effects. In order to find out what’s going on inside that head of his, Roger turns to Nina (Juliette Lewis), a face he recognizes from a popular shampoo ad campaign and someone who knows far more about his situation than he could have ever anticipated.
While promoting the film at the Tribeca Film Festival, Lewis and Skarsgard were on hand to unravel the conspiracy of Metropia. Check out what they had to say about working with director Tarik Saleh, the atypical animation process and more.
Follow along with all of our special, Tribeca 2010 coverage right here.
