First of all, Holy Shit!
I had only heard about this movie but seeing it is a completely different experience of a movie than I have ever had. The whole idea of the film is so beyond strange to me and yet relevant.
The first thing I noticed about about the movie is the vaguely pre-Nazi-ism references throughout the film. Immediately when I saw the workers marching in and out at the changing of the shift I thought Nazi. The men were marching in ranks, mindless slaves to the wage and to advancing technology. In the historical context it was strangely disturbing to see the men marching toward what seemed to be their daily hell.
I was struck by the whole idea of the technology in the aftermath and still barely recovering Germany in the time that this film was made. It looked like a statement, that things will get better, especially because the ending suggests the necessity of compassion for the working man and respect for those you employ, much like the metaphor used directly in the movie of the Tower of Babel.
The acting wasn't, to me the best acting ever, I felt that a lot of it was overacted and exaggerated but it made sense for the time and it played up the drama, which I did like. You really can't look at this film and say that this is not socially what happened in the years to come.
Probably the best thing about this movie was the understanding of coexistence that comes as a product. After rebellion, after fighting for difference and after uprising by mob, after abuse of workers rights and neglect we see the truth of coexistence come through and really show that people need to work together and respect each other.
I got a lot out of this symbolically, like that technology will both unite and divide us, such as the machine man. I wish I could watch this again with more time to analyze though
