Electric Child

I was fortunate enough to be at the world premiere at the Locarno Film Festival, and loved this film. It's a really unique take on the AI/rise of the machine genre, with a great cast and narrative.

Incredible performances, particularly by Rila Fukushima and Sandra Guldberg Kamp. Fukushima's performance of a mother in crisis felt very real and relatable, and Kamp's performance as a developing androgynous intelligence was stellar.

I don't want to drop too many spoilers, but I feel like whenever this issue is covered in films, it's always from the Terminator angle - a cautionary tale. Then there's the utopian view of AI super intelligence found in the wonderful Culture series by Banks, but Electric Child manages to straddle a more nuanced picture than both.

Highly recommended.

"Electric Child" was a profound disappointment for me. The film promised a deep dive into the nature of consciousness and identity, but it delivered a cold and unengaging experience instead. I found the narrative to be frustratingly abstract and slow-paced, relying on a somber, detached atmosphere that quickly wore out its welcome.

The deliberate ambiguity felt less like a thought-provoking choice and more like a lack of a cohesive story. The characters, or what's left of them, are so sterile and devoid of emotion that I found it impossible to connect with their plight. I appreciate the attempt at intellectual sci-fi, but a great concept needs compelling execution.

The film's visual style is bleak and repetitive, and the tension never truly builds to anything substantial, leaving me feeling bored rather than challenged. Ultimately, it felt like a philosophical exercise masquerading as a film, and one that failed to hold my attention.

Is it worth watching? No, I would not recommend it unless you have an exceptionally high tolerance for slow, abstract, and emotionally distant cinema.