I agree that 99% of the politicians have no idea what’s going on. They naively believe they are making a change, and probably doing some shady shit on the side to enrich themselves. I’m not worried about them.
However, there is a group of people who have a sort of God complex, and believe they are ushering in a new and better world. So their intentions are technically good in their own mind, but they wish to accomplish this under any means necessary.
You are thinking about the correct movie. Metropolis was made in the 20s, and it’s a favorite film of the elite. These people are not stupid by any means. Check out this article about the movie: