A man who hears voices in his head discovers he's not crazy, but
something far worse is going on in this animated sci-fi drama from
director Tarik Saleh. It's the year 2024, and the global oil supply ha
finally bottomed out; poverty is widespread, and with automobiles no
longer practical, a system of underground trains links most of the
cities of Europe. Roger Olafsson (voice of Vincent Gallo) is a low-level
office worker who spends his days toiling away in a telephone center
and his night cooped up in a tiny flat. One day, Roger begins hearing a
voice in his head; the voice tells Roger that it is his conscience, and
that he should take a chance and approach Nina (voice of Juliette
Lewis), a beautiful woman he's seen while riding the train. Roger
decides to take the voice's advice, but it turns out that he's actually
been hearing messages from Stefan (voice of Alexander Skarsgard), a
functionary of the all-powerful Trexx Corporation, and he's not trying
to start a romance by pairing Roger and Nina, but tie the unsuspecting
telephone worker into a plot involving a gang of terrorists. Also
featuring the voice talents of Udo Kier and Stellan Skarsgard, Metropia
was screened as part of the "Critics' Week" program at the 2009 Venice
International Film Festival.
