Electroma

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.

I saw Daft Punk's Electroma late last night at the Stockholm Filmfestival. This was right after seeing Gondry's "The Science of Sleep" which was brilliant! This evening turned out to be a great french evening.. Even though I have always been a big fan of Daft Punk's music, especially their live performances, I didn't really think that I would enjoy Electroma that much, but I was wrong! I was really touched by this story of two Robots (the members in daft punk) trying to become human. The theme is similar to that of their latest album "Human After All". It reminded me of Kubrick/Spielberg's "A.I", but Electroma is much more symbolical and humans play a less important role. The movie depicts the robots desire to be unique and human, and just like "Stalker" and other Tarkovsky movies the scenes are very long and for the most part there is no music just background noise, this made me really get into the movie. The whole movie is fantastic but the high rating is mostly due to the ending which is crazy good! I don't know if Daft Punk's robot-era is over after this movie, but I'm looking forward to seeing more stuff from them.

This is probably a movie that many people might find boring because it is a very silent and slow movie (heard a guy in front of me snoring..) but give it a chance... The french are not as stupid as the look!

oh and the music is not daft punk, but I heard some Brian Eno and Curtis Mayfield, overall the music choices were excellent! Merci;)

Electroma was probably the most screwed-up movie I've ever seen.

It was a brilliant movie though. The cinematography was just superb. I loved the slowness, it didn't bore me at all. I was able to enjoy the ambiance, the details, the minimalism, the originality. It really touched me and took me to another level.

But at the same time, this movie got me quite some philosophical nightmare. It made me feel, more than ever before, like we're just robots, and everything we do has been programmed. The determinism theory. Anyone else felt this? I mean, I felt really, really horrible.

But as I said, simply brilliant movie, for the pleasure and for the pain it caused me.

First off, let me say that this film is 74 minutes of long scenes that go on with atmospheric non-daft punk music played to them, the narrative is there and it is a simple yet effective story but their is no dialogue. In other words you will have to be patient and have to want to watch this film in order to properly experience it.

Story: 9/10 The story is a very simple tale of wanting be be something else and society not being ready to except new things. It is simply about two robots who want to be human. Their is no dialogue in the film and no "face acting" as the bots wear helmets, but the story is easy to follow.

Acting: 8/10 For what the acting is worth it is very good, as mentioned before there is no speech or human activity in the film, but that is the point. The robots feel robotic and even though there is no verbal communication emotions are put across very effectively through simple touches that actors add to their characters, for example the movement off the characters arms when they walk is slightly robotic, yet when one of the robots stares at a mirror we feel sadness through the portrayal. To understand what I mean you need to experience the film.

Visuals:10/10 The visuals in this film are fantastic for first time directors. Think Stanley Kubrick mixed with Ridley Scott sprinkled with David Lynch. The camera work is superb and the images in the film are striking. Sun drenched deserts, Children is steel helmets, robots marrying and slow motion burning to mention a few.

Audio: 9/10 The music in this film is not by Daft Punk but features music from Brian Eno and Jackson C. Frank as well as others. The music is amazing in some places (the last scenes music fits perfectly and has a haunting effect. Even though the music is not Daft Punk it is a brilliant score.

Overall: 9/10 A brilliantly slow film, excellently crafted and remenicent of Lynch and Kubrick, this is a film that requires patience, but those who are willing will be very pleased with the results.

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