Puzzlehead

In some future dystopia, Walter (Stephen Galaida) creates an android he calls PUZZLEHEAD. Fashioned in his own image, Walter instills his creation with his memories and psychological makeup.

All is well until Walter and his "twin" fall in love with the same woman, named Julia (Robbie Shapiro). Julia prefers one over the other, leading to betrayal and disaster.

PUZZLEHEAD is a well-made film about identity and what it means to be human. So, don't expect laser battles or explosions, just intriguing science fiction...

Puzzlehead is truly entertaining and thought provoking. Though one finds oneself wishing more information given concerning the general history of the haunting setting of the movie, it is well worth seeing. The movie appeals both to true science fiction aficionados and to those who prefer the dramatic or symbolic. I found myself completely drawn in to the movie. Additionally, because of the nature of the special effects used in the filming of the movie, there is little to no feeling of artificiality as is common with so many modern movies of ANY genre. For personal comparison, I enjoyed Puzzlehead much, MUCH more than I did Spielberg's "A.I."

I had the good fortune to see this movie at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and listen to the director and the lead actress in it answer questions. He spent 6 years editing and putting this movie together and it shows despite the obvious budget limitations he faced.

Anyways, the film itself is basically about a man who creates a robot (named Puzzlehead) that looks exactly like him and whose "synaptic map" is a direct copy of his own. The two look the same except for a beard. The man has a crush on a local grocery store clerk and Puzzlehead the robot is the one who ends up finally meeting her. She thinks he's a human etc. and the drama begins. The plot goes from there and i don't want to spoil it but basically there's a lot of twists involving who is the real man and who is the robot and which is ultimately the better person.

The film handles robot artificial intelligence issues really well and shows the progression of how a robot would likely think and the striking differences and similarities between humans and robots. The film makes the audience truly question who is more human. All the technological mumbo jumbo is easy to understand so you don't get into a situation where you're confused (like that movie "Primer"). But the plot does stay a little ahead of the viewer.

The film obviously could have benefited from a bigger budget, but there are an enough circuits and gizmos and filming techniques that convince us that the protagonist created a robot.

There is subtle humor throughout and the plot is constantly engaging. I strongly recommend everyone see this film.

On a side note: the lead actresses's dialogue was all replaced by some other woman's voice to make it sound more eastern European. I was surprised she was at the screening, I would have been mad.

This movie is one of the most original films I've seen in years. If you like thought provoking films you'll love it, if you are more into action and exploding cars you probably won't be so keen. My only reservation about it is the setting which is only mentioned once and it's tantalisingly left at that. That's fine by me because you can see more or less what's happened but it still would have been nice if the background was a little more consistent. I wanted to see more of it especially as it was so hauntingly shot.

I was interested by a comment someone else posted - "I don't understand how tripe like this can still be churned out in the 21st century with over 100 years of film history behind us.."

It's almost like they are saying movies started off terrible and amateurish and have somehow gone on an evolutionary journey to being better. I don't see that with Hollywood at all, it seems to me as though intelligent movies like this one are a rarity whereas in the past plot was something writers worked at because flashy effects and exploding cars were harder to come by.

"NO movie studio should back things like this." The person adds. Sadly, most studios won't so you have almost got your wish there. It's a shame though because films with an actual story to tell like this one will stay with you a lot longer than that exploding car scene. Each to his own though, I think this is a work of genius but I know a lot of people will disagree simply because it is slow and thoughtful. I personally found the implications quite scary, more so than a CGI monster popping out and a blaring noise to inform the viewer when to jump which is what passes for horror these days.

Intelligent, low key sci-fi piece, impressive looking for it's reported budget of $500K. This has stylistic echoes of films like David Cronenberg"s "Dead Ringers".

In a near future dystopia, a scientist builds a robot that looks like him, and has his memories. They end up both competing for the same girl. While the basic building blocks are familiar, the acting is quite good (especially for a no-name cast), and there is more thought put into the creepy, complex philosophical and moral elements, and the moody muted tone then into cheap scares.

The ending is a bit of a let down, in that it feels a bit more formulaic. But overall this is an impressive first film by a director who sadly has yet to make another.