Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
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Peter Hurteau | ... | Hero Robot #1 |
Michael Reich | ... | Hero Robot #2 | |
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Helena Stoddard | ... | Woman |
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Vance Hartwell | ... | White Room Technician # 1 |
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Lilo Tauvao | ... | White Room Technician #2 |
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Ken Banks | ... | White Room Technician #3 |
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Howie Adams | ... | White Room Technician #4 |
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Ritche Lago Bautista | ... | Robot Groomsman (Town Cast) (as Ritchie L. Bautista) |
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Amir Bokhari | ... | Town Cast |
Alina Bolshakova | ... | Town Cast (as Alina Bolsakova) | |
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Jordan Bonson | ... | Town Cast |
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Bradley Schneider | ... | Robot Lawyer (Town Cast) (credit only) |
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Joshua Calhaun | ... | Town Cast |
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Bradley Davis | ... | Town Cast |
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Alan Deane | ... | Town Cast |
Daft Punk's Electroma is an odyssey of two robots who journey across a mythic American landscape of haunting, surreal beauty on a quest to become human. Their symbolic quest, which takes them from endless two lane highways to small idyllic towns to the arid desert, finds Daft Punk once again resisting conformity and developing new ways to highlight their inventive vision. A silent feature-length film that made its international debut at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, Electroma will interest Daft Punk fans and film enthusiasts alike. With its breathtaking cinematography, innovative filming techniques, and above all its underlying search for humanity within a dystopian environment, Daft Punk have delivered a film that finds a common thread with their previous work while exploring new horizons as directors of their first feature film. Written by Vice Records
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.