A landmark 1927 German sci-fi film will be screened in Colaba next week

MARIA, a robot popularised by the film; (right) Fritz Lang. Pics Courtesy/Film Heritage Foundation

Some films are instant hits, lauded by the critics and embraced by audiences for capturing the essence of the times. For bolder, more radical films, recognition comes as a delayed echo, a slow burn as the world comes around to the realisation of the relevance of its themes and messages. German filmmaker Fritz Lang's silent film, Metropolis (1927) exemplifies the latter. Considered one of the earliest experiments in the genre of sci-fi, the film portrays a dystopian world dealing with a futuristic class divide. As the Goethe Institut Mumbai and Film Heritage Foundation bring the classic back to the silver screen at Regal Cinema on March 11, experts believe that the film might have only grown more significant in the times we live in today.

For Amruta Nemivant, senior programme manager, Goethe Institut Mumbai, Fritz Lang has been a familiar name while facilitating cultural exchange in the city through cinema. "Lang was one of the earliest pioneers of expressionism in German cinema and his influences can be identified in works from eras that followed. As an institute promoting the language in the city, we realised that a name so familiar to us remains largely undiscovered by audiences in Mumbai," she reveals, adding that the screening of a specially restored version of the film will be followed by presentations of two of Lang's classics, M (1931) and The Big Heat (1953), an English language production.

A moment from the filming of a scene on the sets of Metropolis

What keeps the 1927 classic relevant, Nemivant believes, is the foresight Lang possessed in his vision and visuals. "If you look at how Lang predicted the roadways and transportation to be in the future, it doesn't seem too far from where we have eventually ended up. In a way, the scenes remind me of the infrastructural revolution that Mumbai is experiencing right now with the winding flyovers and roads," she laughs. Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, film archivist and filmmaker, seconds Nevimant's evaluation. He adds, "The grand architecture, both futuristic and Gothic at the same time, towering over the residents who look like tiny ants in comparison, is a sight you can catch in any metropolis today; more than 100 years after Lang had visualised it."

Leading up to the screening next week, we learn that this 2010 version has been put together with utmost care by archivists and restorers around the world. While the original 153-minute-long film underwent repeated cuts during its lifetime, a breakthrough came in 2005 when a 25-minute-long cut with extended scenes was discovered in New Zealand, followed by Lang's original cut, albeit damaged extensively, emerging from the archives of an Argentine museum in 2008. "These reels, when pieced together, complete nearly 95 per cent of the original film and it now exists in its original 1.33:1 aspect ratio. We wanted to replicate the original theatre experience and so, we chose Regal Cinema that houses a screen that can accommodate the dimensions without cropping or adding blocks," Dungarpur shares.

Amruta Nemivant

Nemivant admits that Lang's foresight wasn't limited to the complexity of technology and art direction, but also explored that of the human mind. "There is a
clear class divide that runs deep in the plot. Lang tapped into the basic human tendency of divisiveness. The disparity between the exploited working class that lives underground and keeps the city running and a privileged few who chase materialistic pleasures in a utopian city above portrayed in the movie finds reflection all around us today," she remarks, adding that she hopes the movie speaks directly to the audience when they witness Lang's vision, one that preceded even sound.

ON March 11, 6.30 pm; March 12, 6.30 pm and 9.30 pm
AT Regal Cinema, Colaba.
LOG ON TO @goethemumbai
ENTRY First-come-first-served basis