Went to see Daft Punk's new movie Electroma yesterday evening.
I wouldn't count myself as a fan of Daft Punk in any way, shape or form (apart from that wicked coffee table they did for Habitat) and only saw the movie because it wasn't Harry Potter, Die Hard or Shrek. I was pleasantly surprised by the considerable depth of this short, dialogue free film though.
The basic outline seems to be that two robots go on a bit of a road trip, though some beautiful American scenery, to a town where they try and take on a human disguise. This fails and they end up getting chased into the desert. That's pretty much it for plot, but its lovingly filmed and soundtracked by Sebastian Tellier, Brian Eno and Curtis Mayfield amongst others.
The thing that took me a-back the most about the picture was the bleakness of it. I've always associated Daft Punk with a kind of frivolous fun, as that's what comes across in the name, the music videos and the music itself. While Electroma initially seems like a bit of an ego-trip type project, it develops into much more and has a very powerful ending scene. It's nicely shot, the soundtrack's a good mix of 3 parts dread and 1 part fun, and apart from the yawning girlfriend next to me, it was a thoroughly worthwhile watch!
Anyone else seen it?
If you're in the UK or Ireland then google tells me its showing at the following places:
3-10 August - Ritzy Brixton
4 August - Duke of Yorks, Brighton
10-11 August - Irish Film Institute Dublin
13 August - Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
25 August - Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds
28 August - Broadway Nottingham
29 August - Showroom Sheffield
30 August - Glasgow Film Theatre
31 August (tbc) - Electric Picnic Festival, Dublin
I wouldn't count myself as a fan of Daft Punk in any way, shape or form (apart from that wicked coffee table they did for Habitat) and only saw the movie because it wasn't Harry Potter, Die Hard or Shrek. I was pleasantly surprised by the considerable depth of this short, dialogue free film though.
The basic outline seems to be that two robots go on a bit of a road trip, though some beautiful American scenery, to a town where they try and take on a human disguise. This fails and they end up getting chased into the desert. That's pretty much it for plot, but its lovingly filmed and soundtracked by Sebastian Tellier, Brian Eno and Curtis Mayfield amongst others.
The thing that took me a-back the most about the picture was the bleakness of it. I've always associated Daft Punk with a kind of frivolous fun, as that's what comes across in the name, the music videos and the music itself. While Electroma initially seems like a bit of an ego-trip type project, it develops into much more and has a very powerful ending scene. It's nicely shot, the soundtrack's a good mix of 3 parts dread and 1 part fun, and apart from the yawning girlfriend next to me, it was a thoroughly worthwhile watch!
Anyone else seen it?
If you're in the UK or Ireland then google tells me its showing at the following places:
3-10 August - Ritzy Brixton
4 August - Duke of Yorks, Brighton
10-11 August - Irish Film Institute Dublin
13 August - Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle
25 August - Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds
28 August - Broadway Nottingham
29 August - Showroom Sheffield
30 August - Glasgow Film Theatre
31 August (tbc) - Electric Picnic Festival, Dublin
