Ich bin dein Mensch

A German romantic sci-fi comedy. This could be terrible I hear you say. It is not. It's bloody marvellous. Alma (Maren Eggert) is a scientist who's reluctantly got herself embroiled in an experiment to live with a robot, a new humanoid to study its... his, learning capabilities and how he might function as a life partner. She's skeptical to say the least, but Tom (Dan Stevens) is very charming and her studies stand to benefit if she goes along with it. On the surface it sounds clinical, but there's warmth at its heart. Much like Stevens who makes a great robot. He's delightfully innocent and knowledgable in equal measure. Designed to be perfectly tailored for Alma, her reluctance brings a game like quality to their interactions. Together they make a great screen team and have me smiling, chuckling and even laughing out loud on several occasions. If you want to be cynical, there are a few glaring plot holes, but not a single one matters. Tom is carefree, wide eyed, wants to live. Most of all he wants this for Alma too. Her life isn't quite that easy to fix though. Her soul's been trained to crave it's own space, her trust near impossible to attain. Too many things in her life haven't worked out. There's a "Deep and insurmountable gulf" between them, but perhaps these things about Alma are the very things that might bridge that gulf. A beautifully played modern love story. With a beautiful piano score. Balancing sentiment and reality wonderfully.

Greetings again from the darkness. The thing about humans is that we are always looking towards the future to see how we can make things easier, better, or more exciting. This is often with an eye towards more fuel-efficient cars, smaller and more powerful computers, and more effective medical treatments. Writer-director Maria Schrader and co-writer Jan Schomburg have adapted the short story from Emma Braslavsky and turn the lens to relationships and love. Is it possible to advance inter-personal relations to the point of perfection? Would that even be desirable or preferable to the messiness that's gone on since the beginning of time?

It's actually the film's premise that impresses most. Maren Eggert stars as Alma, an Anthropologist who has dedicated years of her life to leading a team documenting the earliest human use of poetry. Alma is a serious and determined woman, and one who bears the scars of a recent breakup. She's drawn into an extraordinary experiment that blends high-tech with sociology. Advanced robots have been developed to become the "perfect" mate, and are programmed specifically for one person. Alma has agreed to the three-week trial, and her robot is Tom (played well by Dan Stevens, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 2017).

Their initial interactions are quite awkward as Alma is skeptical and Tom is programmed to constantly and quickly learn and evolve based on Alma's reactions. Despite Alma's hope for companionship and recognition of her own biological clock, she seems to catch herself anytime she begins to feel a bit of joy. She never imagined that her pursuit of happiness would be dependent on advanced robotics. To monitor the progress, the program's director, played by Sandra Huller (TONI ERDMANN, 2016) periodically checks in. And yes, she holds her own secrets.

This is a clever film that delves a bit deeper into human emotions than we originally anticipate. It also contains quite a bit of humor - the initial dance club introductions are pretty funny, as is Tom's facial expression each time he's tweaking his algorithms. We do learn flirting is "difficult to program", although in today's society, that's a treacherous path anyway. Of course, Alma slowly comes around to the idea of an artificial relationship - one that by definition can never be real. The film is not at the level of EX MACHINA (2014), although it's less about technological advances and more about self-realization. Ms. Schrader's film is plenty entertaining to watch and one that slyly points out many flaws of us human beings, while delivering an unexpected ending.

Maren Eggert & Dan Stevens both shine in this fantastic movie. I first noticed when Dan Stevens first appeared in Downton Abbey, he was already quite outstanding, and I've also predicted that he'd have a bright acting career. My guess then has been proved totally correct. But I didn't know Mr. Stevens is a language genius. His linguistic talent has amazed me when he played roles in the American movies already, now, he speaks fluent German language too. What a genius level actor!

This movie is so unique, but the thing that really makes feel good is it's such a CLEAN movie! It also makes you feel good. I highly recommend it.

Germany's official entry to 2022's Oscars is great, original, poetic and deep. Its romantic story is brilliant and philosophical, it opens up so many important questions. Performances are superb. This film is just well made, highly entertaining and so powerful.

And a very advanced one at that, at least in the movie. In an undisclosed time frame, in cosmopolitan Berlin, artificial intelligence has evolved to the point that robots are indistinguishable from humans. A persnickety academic, Alma (Maren Eggert, in a frosty performance I found endearing) is asked to bring such a specimen home, and report back whether it is suitable for long term companionship, not just as a super efficient cook or housekeeper, but as a partner, a lover.

Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) plays the robot Tom, and his performance is a delightful blend of dry witticisms and self-deprecating humor, aware that humans expect a robotic concoction from a 1950s sci-fi movie, and having fun bursting the balloon, although Tom does experience a few glitches along the way. I'm Your Man aims higher than slapstick love machinations. It selectively doles out rom-com tropes, but also finds a poignancy while delicately posing the question of what it means to be human, and whether the artificial version might be as good or better than the real thing.

It would make a good double bill with "Making Mr. Right".