I'm Here

Impressions before seeing it
I'm Here is a short film from Spike Jonze that I found out about while browsing IMDB and Wikipedia. I thought it looked cool, and then I discovered it was available in a book/DVD/soundtrack package, so I ordered it.

How was it?
Basically, it's about these two robots who start dating each other. I suppose the male was a slightly older model, because he is very squarish (his head looks like an old computer tower) and the female was more round and sleek, and had hair. It's cute and charming, but the little problem I had with it was that the robots were actually too human; not just because they were clearly played by human actors in robot costumes, but because they expressed the emotions and mannerisms of humans, too. This allows us to feel more invested in their relationship, sure, but from a more objective storytelling standpoint I just wondered why bother making a story about robots in love if it would be almost exactly the same story with human characters? Well, on an emotional level anyway; there exists some robotic appendage transplanting as an important element of the relationship and obviously humans can't do that so easily. Other than that and the cool stylistic elements, I didn't really see the point of making this movie, but don't get me wrong: I'm glad it was made. It's sweet and original and I actually wish it was longer, both because I enjoyed it and because I would've liked to have seen a little more development across the board. Also, please note that even though this short was sponsored by Absolut, it really has nothing at all to do with vodka.

Recommendation
While I haven't checked out everything yet, the fact that this one short film comes with a behind-the-scenes book, a soundtrack CD, and some special features on the DVD is really impressive, especially for a short. There are tons of full length movies that don't even get that kind of treatment. So if you happen to catch it (it's probably online somewhere) and enjoy it, I recommend looking for that package. It would be under "There are Many of Us", which is the book's title.