Metropia (film)
Encyclopedia
Metropia is a 2009 Swedish
adult animated
science-fiction
film directed by Tarik Saleh
. The screenplay was written by Fredrik Edin, Stieg Larsson
, and Tarik Saleh after a story by Tarik Saleh, Fredrik Edin and Martin Hultman. The film uses a technique where actual photographs have been altered and heavily stylized in a computer program, and then animated. The visual style is inspired by the works of Terry Gilliam
, Roy Andersson
and Yuriy Norshteyn
.
network is created by joining all the various undergrounds together underneath Europe. Roger (Vincent Gallo) from a suburb of Stockholm
avoids the underground because he finds it disturbing. Sometimes when he is too near the underground, he hears a strange voice in his head.
One day Roger stumbles upon the truth that his life is controlled in every detail. In order to break free he combines forces with super-model Nina (Juliette Lewis).
and Norway's Tordenfilm, and with support from the Council of Europe
's film fund Eurimages
, the film had a budget of around 34 million SEK
.
Ordinary people spotted on the streets were used as models for the characters. The main character Roger is based on a chef who worked at a restaurant in Stockholm where the Atmo employees were regulars, and Nina was found in a make-up store. Vincent Gallo
accepted his part as the lead voice actor after having seen 30 seconds of finished animation as well as hearing that German actor Udo Kier
, of whom Gallo was a fan, already was attached to the project.
After a story board had been developed, photographer Sesse Lind travelled around Europe and took pictures of needed locations in Stockholm, Berlin, Paris and Copenhagen. The photographs were edited in Photoshop
, and animated in Adobe After Effects
under lead animator Isak Gjertsen. Animation was done in Trollhättan
, as the first production to use Film i Väst
's newly started animation studio. The production took two years to finish.
, opening up the festival's Critic's Week but shown out of competition.
. The movie will be Rated R for restricted in North America.
Cinema of Sweden
Swedish cinema is known as producing many critically acclaimed movies, and during the 20th century was the most prominent of Scandinavia. This is largely due to the popularity and prominence of the directors Ingmar Bergman, Victor Sjöström, and more recently Lasse Hallström and Lukas...
adult animated
Adult animation
Adult animation is a term used to describe animation that is targeted at adults. Animated films and television shows may be considered adult for a number of reasons. Some productions are noted for experimental storytelling and animation techniques, or sophisticated storytelling...
science-fiction
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
film directed by Tarik Saleh
Tarik Saleh
Tarik Saleh is Swedish television producer, animator, publisher, journalist and film director of Egyptian descent, who in early 90s was one of Sweden's most prominent graffiti artists...
. The screenplay was written by Fredrik Edin, Stieg Larsson
Stieg Larsson
Karl Stig-Erland Larsson , who wrote professionally as Stieg Larsson, was a Swedish journalist and writer, born in Skelleftehamn outside Skellefteå. He is best known for writing the "Millennium series" of crime novels, which were published posthumously...
, and Tarik Saleh after a story by Tarik Saleh, Fredrik Edin and Martin Hultman. The film uses a technique where actual photographs have been altered and heavily stylized in a computer program, and then animated. The visual style is inspired by the works of Terry Gilliam
Terry Gilliam
Terrence Vance "Terry" Gilliam is an American-born British screenwriter, film director, animator, actor and member of the Monty Python comedy troupe. Gilliam is also known for directing several films, including Brazil , The Adventures of Baron Munchausen , The Fisher King , and 12 Monkeys...
, Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson
Roy Andersson is a Swedish film director, best known for his films A Swedish Love Story and Songs from the Second Floor. More than any other, Songs from the Second Floor succeeded in cementing his personal style — a style characterized by long takes, absurdist comedy, stiff caricaturing of...
and Yuriy Norshteyn
Yuriy Norshteyn
Yuriy Borisovich Norshteyn , or Yuri Norstein is an award-winning Soviet and Russian animator best known for his animated shorts, Hedgehog in the Fog and Tale of Tales...
.
Synopsis
A futuristic look at a terrifying Europe where the world is running out of oil. A gigantic undergroundRapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
network is created by joining all the various undergrounds together underneath Europe. Roger (Vincent Gallo) from a suburb of Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
avoids the underground because he finds it disturbing. Sometimes when he is too near the underground, he hears a strange voice in his head.
One day Roger stumbles upon the truth that his life is controlled in every detail. In order to break free he combines forces with super-model Nina (Juliette Lewis).
Cast
- Vincent GalloVincent GalloVincent Gallo is an Italian-American film director and actor. Though he has had minor roles in mainstream films such as Goodfellas, he is most associated with independent movies, including Buffalo '66, which he wrote, directed, did the music for and starred in; The Brown Bunny, which he also...
as Roger - Juliette LewisJuliette LewisJuliette Lewis is an American actress and musician. She gained international fame for her role in the 1991 thriller Cape Fear for which she was nominated for both an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress...
as Nina - Udo KierUdo KierUdo Kier is a German actor, known primarily for his work in horror and exploitation movies.-Early life:...
as Ivan Bahn - Stellan SkarsgårdStellan SkarsgårdStellan John Skarsgård is a Swedish actor, known internationally for his film roles in Angels & Demons, Breaking the Waves, The Hunt for Red October, Ronin, Good Will Hunting, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, Dominion: Prequel to the Exorcist,...
as Ralph Parker - Alexander SkarsgårdAlexander SkarsgårdAlexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series True Blood, Meekus in Zoolander and Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.-Early life:...
as Stefan - Sofia HelinSofia HelinSofia Margareta Götschenhjelm Helin is a Swedish actress best known for the Guldbagge nomination she got for her role in Dalecarlians ....
as Anna - Shanti RoneyShanti RoneyShanti Grau Roney is a Swedish actor. While his film credits include nearly twenty movies, most of these have been limited to a domestic or Scandinavian release...
as Karl - Fares FaresFares FaresFares Fares in Beirut, Lebanon, is a Swedish film actor with Assyrian/Syriac origin. He is the brother of film director Josef Fares, and has several times played major parts in his movies, including Jalla! Jalla! and Kopps. He has also starred in Bang Bang Orangutang and Kill Your Darlings...
as Firaz - Fredrik Eddari as Mehmet
- Doreen Månsson as asylum TV-hostess
- Indy Neidell as Wayne Marshal
- Joanna Zofia Bard Mikolajczyk as metro voice
- Goran Marjanovic as asylum seeker
- Magnus Skogberg Tear as Roger's boss
- Lotta Bromé as news anchor
- Annelie Persson as Trexx commercial
- Sandy Månsson as office gossip
- Michael Månsson as old man buying ticket
- Jon Wigfield as annoying customer
Production
The story and supporting material were developed by Stockholm-based Atmo during a period of four years before the actual animation work had begun. Co-producers include Denmark's ZentropaZentropa
Europa is a film directed by Lars von Trier. Released in 1991, it is von Trier's third theatrical feature film and is the final film in the Europa trilogy....
and Norway's Tordenfilm, and with support from the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
's film fund Eurimages
Eurimages
Eurimages is the Council of Europe fund for the co-production, distribution, exhibition and digitisation of European cinematographic works. It aims to promote the European film industry by encouraging the production and distribution of films and fostering co-operation between professionals....
, the film had a budget of around 34 million SEK
Swedish krona
The krona has been the currency of Sweden since 1873. Both the ISO code "SEK" and currency sign "kr" are in common use; the former precedes or follows the value, the latter usually follows it, but especially in the past, it sometimes preceded the value...
.
Ordinary people spotted on the streets were used as models for the characters. The main character Roger is based on a chef who worked at a restaurant in Stockholm where the Atmo employees were regulars, and Nina was found in a make-up store. Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo
Vincent Gallo is an Italian-American film director and actor. Though he has had minor roles in mainstream films such as Goodfellas, he is most associated with independent movies, including Buffalo '66, which he wrote, directed, did the music for and starred in; The Brown Bunny, which he also...
accepted his part as the lead voice actor after having seen 30 seconds of finished animation as well as hearing that German actor Udo Kier
Udo Kier
Udo Kier is a German actor, known primarily for his work in horror and exploitation movies.-Early life:...
, of whom Gallo was a fan, already was attached to the project.
After a story board had been developed, photographer Sesse Lind travelled around Europe and took pictures of needed locations in Stockholm, Berlin, Paris and Copenhagen. The photographs were edited in Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Photoshop is a graphics editing program developed and published by Adobe Systems Incorporated.Adobe's 2003 "Creative Suite" rebranding led to Adobe Photoshop 8's renaming to Adobe Photoshop CS. Thus, Adobe Photoshop CS5 is the 12th major release of Adobe Photoshop...
, and animated in Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects
Adobe After Effects is a digital motion graphics and compositing software published by Adobe Systems, used in the post-production process of filmmaking and television production. Its main uses are the origination of 2D and 2.5D animation, visual effects compositing and finishing...
under lead animator Isak Gjertsen. Animation was done in Trollhättan
Trollhättan
Trollhättan is a city and the seat of Trollhättan Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 44,498 inhabitants in 2005. It is located 75 km north of Sweden's second-largest city, Gothenburg....
, as the first production to use Film i Väst
Film i Väst
Film i Väst is a film company located in Trollhättan, Sweden, founded in 1992. Lars von Trier used its facilities in his movies, such as Dogville and Manderlay.-Walk of Fame:...
's newly started animation studio. The production took two years to finish.
Release
The film premiered on 3 September 2009 at the Venice Film Festival66th Venice International Film Festival
The 66th annual Venice Film Festival held in Venice, Italy, was opened on September 2, 2009 by Baarìa - La porta del vento. International competition jury, led by Ang Lee, awarded Leone d'Oro to Lebanon...
, opening up the festival's Critic's Week but shown out of competition.
American Release
The movie will be released in late 2012 in North America and distributed by Paramount PicturesParamount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
. The movie will be Rated R for restricted in North America.
External links
- Official website
- The Art of Metropia
- Metropia trailer on YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....