The dirty, faded-grey bleak-mosphere is possibly the first striking element of 2009′s Metropia, the Swedish animated film directed by Tarik Saleh. It’s set in 2024 and follows the conspiracy-sniffing adventures of Roger (voiced by Vinnie Gallo), an unremarkable office drone from Stockholm. Metropia employs a special animation process, involving real photo models, Adobe lightning bolts and presumably four hundred billion man-hours. The result is altogether creepy.

The plot mainly revolves around the methods of mind control employed by a sinister company, the suitably evil-sounding Trexx Corp, helmed by Ivan Bahn (Udo Kier). The Earth’s resources are thin on the ground, so everyone has to either cycle or ride Trexx Corp’s Metro, a heaving subway network connecting all of Europe (that would be really handy).

Thanks to the far-out animation style, all the characters have anxious looking swollen heads, and their mouths are slow-moving. Roger looks rather queer from the side:

Hello Kitty is a recurring theme throughout. Everything is washed in grey; the only colours I can remember are the pink of the Hello Kitty dolls, and the red of the mysterious Nina (Juliette Lewis), who in appearance reminds me of Marlene Dietrich.

Roger is surely on anti-depressants: he mopes and trudges around emotionlessly for most of the film. Even his own impending death doesn’t excite or rouse him. All he wants is to regain control over his life, though the damn voice in his head sure isn’t contributing to his wellbeing. Perhaps I am the only one who, while watching Roger communicate with the voice inside his head, began to think that having a voice in your head would be really cool. You would never be lonely. Just as long as that voice is not Pat Spillane, or this guy.

People have complained that the film is a bit slow and the plot somewhat uninspired, but I do think the whole feeling of the film is intentionally one of oppressive boredom/mindless banality. The curious, low-key plod of the film is at strangely mesmerising, but having said that, my overall view of Metropia is that it was slightly underwhelming. The disturbing animation is the thing you’re most likely to remember afterwards. Worth watching though.

You’ll be glad to know that the guy from the Wimax ad makes an appearance too.

Final rating:

3 Orangutans out of 5