Daft Punk's Electroma

tox

Factory Girl
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
 

3underscore

Well-known member
I read somewhere that it is getting a run of three weeks at one of the arts cinemas. Obviously knowing which one it was would help some of you.
 
in regards to the bleakness point

they have always a tinge of sadness in their music...I mean listen to Human After All (my favourite album of theirs) - that is the project that they are most proud of apparently...

and of course then there is the helmets and identity hiding which has always had a point...I remember reading a recent piece in WHSmith in Q or Mojo after Coachella where they explained a lot...

I do wanna see this
 
Top