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.

If anything, Electroma should be taken just like any other experimental, art-house cinema film. This is borderline impossible when it's not just Electroma, but "Daft Punk's" Electroma, the tag line is "It's a Daft Punk vision" and you've got the Daft Punk logo emblazoned on the back of the two protagonists' jackets. For this, I feel like the film falters from a bit of ego, but just think how much worse it would've been if they'd used their own music.That being said, as a so-called art-house picture, Electroma is okay. There isn't much plot to follow and the "HUMAN" license plate is about as trite as calling this an interpretation of the difficulties of fitting into society, but in terms of something to look at, it's really really gorgeous. Considering Bangalter had little to no experience in cinematography prior to this, he's done a fantastic job. Each shot is quite beautiful in its own way, aesthetically speaking, particularly the final one.What I'm trying to say is, don't go into Electroma expecting brilliance, because it isn't. Take it for what it is: a mildly pretentious if not borderline dull, yet visually stunning piece of celluloid. It's ripe for interpretation (or none at all) which will grant it some sort of cult following. Hopefully a midnight-film of sorts.P.S. The soundtrack they did choose complements the film perfectly. And if "the" notorious desert close-up scene doesn't get this passed around film circles for years to come, I don't know what will.

Daft Punk's "Electroma" has a pretty simple story: two robots attempt to become human, fail, then wander a desert landscape until they destroy themselves. Thematically, I wouldn't see why it shouldn't be taken at face value, though if you want to get technical about it I suppose it does have some things to say about plastic surgery, alienation, and conformity.This movie's real focus resides, however, on the visuals. It's use of music and it's sense of surrealism, plus the fact that it has such a slight story, lends it to the inevitable comparison to music videos, but even that's not quite getting to the unique way the two directors use music and imagery. For one thing, the movie is shot in video and the movie often jumps or halts while panning, giving a sort of POV from the electronic minds of the protagonists (they are billed simply Hero 1 and Hero 2). Secondly, the soundtrack is just as ready to use environmental noise as it is music to hold the moment.It could have been shorter. Most of the screen time is spent on the robots walking or driving through the desert landscape, staring at the other robots in the world or just watching the road or dunes. I think in this case Daft Punk were trying to make the movie fit into feature length presentation, though I suppose an argument into the monotony and blankness of the robots mechanical lives isn't unwarranted. The problem, however, is that after several long takes of repeated imagery, one hopes that it'll eventually lead to some form of action.Still, the imagery is pretty gorgeous, and the middle scenes (involving the modeling, the robot society's reaction, and the abandoned bathroom) are pretty much 100% fascinating. This might be a good movie to see on DVD--watch the landscape traveling until it gets repetitive, then skip to the next scene of action.--PolarisDiB

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