Metropolis ending explained

What happens

Rotwang falls to his death from the cathedral roof after fighting Freder, and the real Maria is saved. Freder then joins the hands of his father and the workers' foreman, with the heart as mediator. The city's two halves are reconciled.

The last image

Freder stands between his father and the foreman and brings their hands together, ending the split between head and hands.

Two readings

1 · Hopeful reconciliationUnderstanding, not violence, can heal a divided society.

2 · Convenient compromiseThe handshake asks workers to accept peace while the underlying power stays in place.

What it says

The film sets head against hands and answers with the heart, offering reconciliation where the problem seems to demand revolution. It ends this way because it treats class conflict as a failure of feeling. Lang himself later criticised that message.