Horst in Translation ([email protected])
You have to make up your mind for yourself. I personally found it a really tragic short film. The main character, a strange metallic statue with something that resembles a PC tower as his head leads an isolated lonely life, until, one day, he runs into a sweet robot lady and her gang of friends. From that moment on, he keeps spending more time with the group and finally seems to succeed in bringing more diversity into his life. However, things quickly take a turn for the worse when the lady of his choice keeps having accidents of increased severity. Every accident, she causes irreparable damage to the extent that she's soon losing her arms, legs and even torso and our hero (played by "Spider-Man" Andrew Garfield) keeps sacrificing his body-parts, so she can keep living a sort-of normal life. Is that what true love looks like?As a whole, I'd recommend the short film, although I believe they could have at least cut 5 minutes from it. Around halfway in, the premise and developments are clear and it's basically just him stepping in repeatedly whenever something happened to the girl. The only real highlight of the second half of the film is the final shot with her in the wheelchair. Nonetheless, it's one of Spike Jonze's best works.
lw-8027
I'm Here Is a short film about a computer/robot living in a discriminative world of which humans are dominant, we follow the main character Sheldon a lonely Bookkeeper robot fall in love with a 'Live-wire' girl robot who does not conform to the human societies expectations of robots. Throughout the short we get and insight of what its like for the robots and this helps us to empathise with them. I believe in itself the discrimination of the robots does not differ much from the discrimination that has and still is being seen in the real world. Overall I found the short film 'I'm here' very touching and heart warming. I believe that the director wanted to send out a strong message about love and friendship. I perceived the message that without those you love the world can be a lonely place, and therefore you should give an 'arm and a leg' to keep them close.
SunnydaZe10
Spike Jonze is a director known for over-the-top high concept music videos and yet his films are always so emotional and subtle.Many scenes in this film moved me yet I can't put my finger on why. It captures the loneliness of a big city, but how just a few friends and a sweetheart can cure that empty feeling. Everything is kept so simple as to be universal.The look of the robots is very retro and ironic. They look older than the computer I am writing this on by maintaining the boxy gray look of a computer from the late 90s. In many ways this short seems to take place in LA during the 90s. Everything seems dated.I won't say much about the relationship at the center of the story but I do wonder if it is meant to be dysfunctional or not. Let's just say it reaches a very one-sided place in terms of giving more than you get in a relationship. The ending is moving but also a bit creepy when you consider the reality of what has been sacrificed to save a casual lover.
Norm Richardson
Retro robots in the future, same as here and now, but robots stomp about. A quiet, lonesome, librarian robot fixates on a sleeker fem-bot with some questionable robot friends, enters into a one-sided relationship, gives too much, the end. It's the kind of film that doesn't matter, it's slight, it's light, it's quite simple. But give it the half hour it asks, invest a bit of time and let it flow past you, and it's a sweet slice of everyday life. The ups and downs and all the angles of relationships. Filmed in a washed-out sunny California vibe, it's not a technical effort, but it does have an extended pop video feel. Subtle animation give life to the robots, and for all the lack of reality, the characters are believable, and sympathetic.