Eva

In his debut feature film director Kike Maillo went out on a limb when he chose to make a film set in Spain in the not-so-distant- future about the moral dilemmas of artificial intelligence. Spanish sci-fi? Sounds risky but why not? We're getting a new robot-themed film each month now: Chappie, Big Hero 6, Ex-Machina, Age of Ultron, Elysium to name a few of the most recent. So why not a Spanish robot film for a change?

The world "Eva" is set in is indeed intriguing. It is set in an idyllic alpine village so perfect it looks like we're peering inside a souvenir snow globe. People drive around in 1970's SAABs, wear wool sweaters, unwind in pubs with cozy fireplaces and go ice skating every afternoon. The only signs that you are in the future is that there are robots everywhere politely and discretely doing secretarial and house cleaning jobs. There are no drones, no self- driving cars, and no robo-cops (Spain should be optimistic of its future apparently). Robots are either doing menial labor, or, apparently, have been geared towards emotional gratification and the companionship of their creators.

Our protagonist, Alex (Daniel Brühl) is a robotics software developer who is hired to go after the holy grail of robotics: building a prototype of a robot child that is both realistic (that is, spontaneous) as well as safe (that is, predictable). The strength of this film is to show reconciling these two is impossible, and that the essence of being human is precisely that we cannot be both. The secret sauce that makes us human, capable of spontaneity and charm, turns out to be also what makes us irrational, impetuous and dangerous.

After masterfully setting up the premise of the film, the actual execution of the plot starts to falter. The protagonist is supposed to be a genius cybernetic engineer, but his character is mostly a drag and a bore to watch. You start wishing that his robot cat had more screen time. The story also hinges on a love triangle that feels contrived and inane. The robot butler is considerably more entertaining and I ended up wishing he somehow played a bigger part in the plot. The core of the story revolves around how Alex tries to model the emotional life of the android child on his niece (fantastically played by Claudia Vega) and it is these interactions that anchor the film and give it substance. The best scenes deal with the "Turing tests" that Bruno develops, trying to tell apart real child from robot child. The last half hour of the film has some twists which ultimately make the entire film seem better than it felt it was while watching. Still, it is not easy to forgive the director for wasting so much time on love triangle sub-plots and creating hollow characters. The film gets seven stars for its elegant cinematography and its smartly framed premise, but doesn't break much new ground.

Gorgeous Spanish fairytale set in a realistic not too distant future. Eva sees a robot programmer return to his hometown so he can help program a robot child. First he needs to find inspiration from children in the area.After finding the majority to be boring he comes across a young girl named Eva who just happens to be the daughter of his ex-love. Eva fascinates him and he soon begins research so that a robot can take on her personality, but will her characteristics translate well into the robot world? Eva is a film that remains quiet. It knows its ideas and themes are fascinating and so it underplays them and lets your imagination run away with your own ideas. This is expressed best of all when we are first introduced to the world. There is no huge fanfare or showing off. The robots merely exist in the world with the humans. We first get a glimpse of this when Daniel Bruhl returns home and is followed by a robotic cat. The emotions that are present throughout are truly moving as it asks, in typical robot/man fashion, what it is to be human and can science go too far? Bruhl is a wonderful lead, who clearly gets across his fascination with robots, but also his frustration with them. He really does fail to make the most of his gift, but maybe that is for the best. The cinematography is gorgeous, with Eva's red coat constantly standing out from the snow swept landscapes. An enjoyable and thought provoking drama.

This movie is a European take on artificial intelligence- less action, more interaction.

I found the special effects in this film beautiful and mesmerizing, just enough to engage the imagination in terms of what a robot could and should be and do...

There are two plots- one is that a software engineer is trying to design the perfect robot for entertainment that is free (can do what it wants) and is looking for inspiration in a girl he meets called Eva, the other is that this software engineer is coming back to an awkward situation involving his brother and an ex-girlfriend of his, whom he worked with. Despite other reviews I found it quite well done how both plots intertwined.

As an audio professional I found some sound parts of the film difficult to stomach, especially the party scene where slow-dancing and speaking at the same time-here rough cuts are clearly audible and it's enough to take away from the great use of David Bowie's music in this scene, a real shame.

Beyond that thought I was very impressed with Brühl, that quatri-lingual dreamboat, whom I have until now only seen on German films. It's rare to find somebody who can master and work in fluency. He's definitely found a new fan in me.

I watched this film today at the movie theater. The film is beautifully acted and directed. I am very glad to see that in Spain we have new filmmakers able to work within the film industry and still make a great film in the cinematographic sense.

"Eva" is far more profound than the trailer or the publicity may suggest. It is a deep reflection on human nature and identity. But, and here comes the surprise, it is not a so-called intellectual film.

The film is very well done, and it is an example of a new wave of European cinema that is producing great films without necessarily big fireworks. Keep doing the good job, Kike.

Set in 2041, Alex Garel (Daniel Bruhl) is a famous scientific who after 10 years goes to back to his home town to work in his old university . There the shy genius is employed by his former university professor (Anne Canovas) to design robot soft ware . Later on , Alex meets his brother David (Alberto Ammann) , his wife Lana (Marta Etura) and Eva (Claudia Vega) , Alex's 10-years-old niece . Meantime , Alex is assisted by a servant-robot (Luis Homar as the sympathetic android Max) . Looking for inspiration , Alex asks help Eva to be the example the new robot , and to survey her behavior during the time they spend together . The cutest girl Eva fascinates him and he soon begins research so that a robot can take on her personality , making emotional tests and watching attitude to configure its existence .

This Sci-Fi film contains fantasy , drama , a tragic love story , thought-provoking issues and is pretty interesting . This is an exciting film though relies heavily on the programmer-Eva , Brother-Brother Relationship and the loving triangle is regularly developed . A movie about childhood , robots , love , it has more than its share of beauty , mysteries and wonders . This good picture takes parts here and there from ¨A.I.¨ by Steven Spielberg , ¨Metropolis¨ by Fritz Land and ¨I Robot¨ written by Isaac Asimov . Good performances from Daniel Bruhl as a well-known robot programmer , his friend played by Anne Canovas who brings him a project to create a new line of robot child and special mention to the girl Clara Lago as the muse of the new robot . Furthermore Alex's former lover and David's current wife well played by Marta Etura along with her husband finely performed by Albert Ammann . In addition , the veteran Luis Homar as likable android Max . Mesmerizing , miraculous and state-of-art special effects , spiced with mechanical cats , horse-robots and other marvelous artifacts . Glamorous and luxurious Cinematography by Arnau Valls Colomer , being filmed on location in Panticosa, Huesca, Aragón, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain , La Chaux-de-Fonds, Canton Neuchâtel, Switzerland and final scene in Tenerife, Canary Islands . Emotive and sensitive Original Music by Evgueni Galperine and co-composer Sacha Galperine . The motion picture was elegantly directed by Kike Maillo at his best and being hist first film , formerly making various shorts .

The 26th Annual Goya Awards (Premios Goyas), presented by the Spanish Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences, it is "Spain's main national film awards, considered by many in Spain, and internationally, to be the Spanish equivalent of the American Academy Awards¨ gave a deserved Goya to New Director , Kike Maillo , for this above average film titled ¨Eva¨ . Rating : Good , worthwhile watching .