Spanish / Spain
Metrópolis. Homenaje a la película de Fritz Lang 1927. Novela gráfica
(Metropolis. Homage to the film by Fritz Lang 1927. Graphic novel)
Montenegro, Christian
(illus.)
Barcelona [et al.]: Libros del Zorro Rojo, 2021. – 126 p.
(Series: Illustrata)
ISBN 978-84-122293-6-3
Lang, Fritz / Metropolis | Adaptation | Future | Social disparity | Dystopia | Graphic novel
Reading age: 12+
White Ravens issue: 2021
It is daring to adapt a well-known artwork and to interpret it in one’s own way. To do so without casting aside or overshadowing the original is difficult, yet Argentinian illustrator Christian Montenegro meets this challenge to a remarkable degree. His “homage” to “Metropolis”, director Fritz Lang’s 1927 premiered masterpiece based on a novel by Thea von Harbou, is enthralling eye candy. Without copying the film, Montenegro’s graphic illustrations, accompanied by the silent movie’s intertitles, excellently capture its futuristic sceneries, the hype of the big city juggernaut, people’s fast-paced lives that imitate machine rhythms, and the stark social differences between the ruling class and the enslaved masses. Montenegro adopts the black-and-white aesthetic of the film, masterfully uses light and shadow effects, and works with strong contrasts. In this way, he confidently and imaginatively “translates” the film into the static pictures of the printed graphic novel medium. [JW]