times of the lumiere brothers.

the news: a murderous triangle of love. a policeman and a thief. a gossipmonger. a beauty.

the main film. a party. joys of the rich. little charlie feels out of place here. the policeman enters.

another story. an organ-grinder. charlie tries to help him... again, the policeman. he is near charlie. charlie is quick and adroit. he enters a ballet class. it is difficult to recognize him. but the policeman is also clever. they find themselves in the circus. parade alle! clowns! clowns! fakir! fakir! charlie is in the street of a big city. it is the moment that he waited for his entire life. a flower-seller. the noise intensifies. it is a metropolis. its inhabitants at first seem ordinary. but they are not real people. they have the same haircuts, they dress suspiciously and their dancing is strange. they do not understand him, they are inhuman. they follow trends - in clothing and manners, ideas and emotions. alas, they have no souls. they are robots.

charlie seeks friends among them to no avail. they pass him by…

he is not defeated.

he is with us.

we feel his love.

we feel his sincerity.

we feel his kindness.

music by charlie chaplin, george gershwin