Spidersecu
Don't Believe the Hype
Cleveronix
A different way of telling a story
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
FilmFlaneur
A universe away from the 70's glam kitsch of Daft Punk's INTERSTELLA 5555 (of which I am also an admirer) ELECTROMA is another work which defies easy categorisation, which one will love or hate with equal fervour. It's also another set in the future. but an entirely different one to the rhythmically paced anime of the previous effort. Two robots set out to be human, amidst the expanse of a mostly uninhabited American hinterland, playing out their destinies in an entirely wordless, sometimes meditative setting. Unlike INTERSTELLA too, there is more silence here while what music there is comes from disparate sources as Brian Eno, Haydn and Allegri. As another reviewer has said : "If Stanley Kubrick, David Lynch and Jean-Luc Godard (with Francois Truffaut in a consultancy role) had been asked to collaborate on a film about androids, this is probably exactly what they would have come up with..." .. to which can be added some influences too from the futuristic sterility of such films as THX1138, as well as perhaps some of the philosophical road moves of the 70's like VANISHING POINT or TWO LANE BLACKTOP, road movies where significant travel by its definition never comes to a conclusion. This while the questioning of what exactly it means to be human is a concern familiar from the works of Philip K Dick. Entirely without dialogue, slow but strangely moving, the experience offered by ELECTROMA is ultimately just as profound as the viewer allows or wants it to be, and some have undoubtedly found it pretentious or tedious. Over its 70 minutes I found it memorable and affecting, a film which simply has to be accepted at its own pace. Without the distractions of dialogue one is forced to concentrate on issues elsewhere, with some striking images and scenes along the way - notably one of a burning robot striding to extinction through the desert, or the sad melting faces, like carnival masks, of those who seek to assume humaness. Whether or not Hero Robots 1 & 2 achieve what they want despite it all is a matter of interpretation as much as the film in which they appear. It's an experiment in its own way, just as much as the group's last was, but once again Daft Punk show just what an achievement off the wall film making offers for the adventurous, at least away from the popularist demands of Hollywood. Were that other musicians so creative on screen. Recommended.
Polaris_DiB
Daft Punk's "Electroma" has a pretty simple story: two robots attempt to become human, fail, then wander a desert landscape until they destroy themselves. Thematically, I wouldn't see why it shouldn't be taken at face value, though if you want to get technical about it I suppose it does have some things to say about plastic surgery, alienation, and conformity.This movie's real focus resides, however, on the visuals. It's use of music and it's sense of surrealism, plus the fact that it has such a slight story, lends it to the inevitable comparison to music videos, but even that's not quite getting to the unique way the two directors use music and imagery. For one thing, the movie is shot in video and the movie often jumps or halts while panning, giving a sort of POV from the electronic minds of the protagonists (they are billed simply Hero 1 and Hero 2). Secondly, the soundtrack is just as ready to use environmental noise as it is music to hold the moment.It could have been shorter. Most of the screen time is spent on the robots walking or driving through the desert landscape, staring at the other robots in the world or just watching the road or dunes. I think in this case Daft Punk were trying to make the movie fit into feature length presentation, though I suppose an argument into the monotony and blankness of the robots mechanical lives isn't unwarranted. The problem, however, is that after several long takes of repeated imagery, one hopes that it'll eventually lead to some form of action.Still, the imagery is pretty gorgeous, and the middle scenes (involving the modeling, the robot society's reaction, and the abandoned bathroom) are pretty much 100% fascinating. This might be a good movie to see on DVD--watch the landscape traveling until it gets repetitive, then skip to the next scene of action.--PolarisDiB
alisoncolegrooveq
It doesn't bother me in the slightest whether people think this film references others or not. That's irrelevant because it just works - it's delightfully simple, beautifully shot, visually arresting and surprisingly poetic.Part of the charm of this film is both the fun (the makeover) and then the quite moving climax in the desert. It works against all your expectations of Daft Punk (and their music) and in many ways this is what makes this also quite special. The choice of music is sublime, and the pace itself becomes quite hypnotic. In fact the pace seems to be one thing that people use to critique this film as though it's somehow pretentious..which itself is an absurd and dimwitted comment really, because the playful charm of the silent characters themselves is anything but pretentious. Hell, if that's pretentious, the world needs a lot more of it because we are drowning in the bile spewing from the Hollywood trough.As an older Daft Punk fan, probably more in tune with their own age and tastes i loved this film. Also worth a mention that there's a very Kubrick-esquire 2001 look to one scene (thumbs up there!)Ignore the doubters. Sit back and immerse yourself in Electroma. In time this will definitely considered a classic concept film by one of the more innovative electronic artists of our age.Human After All
soccergoon13
If you're a fan of Daft Punk you aren't automatically going to like this movie. And if you're not a fan of Daft Punk you aren't automatically going to dislike it. No music by Daft Punk. No dialog or flashing helmet text. Ambient sound. And Curtis Mayfield.Electroma plays like a festival art film, yet it's more accessible to the audience than the "Cremaster" movies and more thoughtful and varied than "Zidane". In essence, the movie comprises five set pieces. It opens with a drive through the desert, then a town. The second set involves becoming human. They then re-enter the robot world in a Frankenstein-esquire reversal, playing off of Icarus. The fourth part brings the sad realization of returning to robotic roots. Fifth, they walk through a desert, which comprises the longest part of the film.I recommend it for the art-house/festival crowd. No dialog, an atypical plot-line, and lengthy sweeping pans will certainly turn away some fans. It is pretentious to a degree, I won't deny it, but compared to Cremaster (an unfair comparison, yes, but it's the most widely seen), Electroma doesn't require pre-emptive knowledge for the deciphering of the symbols, which tells you what you're watching. You can absorb it without extreme cerebral input.It's slow. Like Tarkovsky or Herzog. Don't expect hyperactive techno robots.You'll be hard-pressed to find this film, as Daft Punk does not intend to ever release this film on DVD. See it at a festival or snag a bootleg. It's worth the time.
