Puzzlehead

Puzzlehead is truly entertaining and thought provoking. Though one finds oneself wishing more information given concerning the general history of the haunting setting of the movie, it is well worth seeing. The movie appeals both to true science fiction aficionados and to those who prefer the dramatic or symbolic. I found myself completely drawn in to the movie. Additionally, because of the nature of the special effects used in the filming of the movie, there is little to no feeling of artificiality as is common with so many modern movies of ANY genre. For personal comparison, I enjoyed Puzzlehead much, MUCH more than I did Spielberg's "A.I."

Intelligent, low key sci-fi piece, impressive looking for it's reported budget of $500K. This has stylistic echoes of films like David Cronenberg"s "Dead Ringers".

In a near future dystopia, a scientist builds a robot that looks like him, and has his memories. They end up both competing for the same girl. While the basic building blocks are familiar, the acting is quite good (especially for a no-name cast), and there is more thought put into the creepy, complex philosophical and moral elements, and the moody muted tone then into cheap scares.

The ending is a bit of a let down, in that it feels a bit more formulaic. But overall this is an impressive first film by a director who sadly has yet to make another.

In a world 'after the decline' a scientist creates a robot in his image. The robot, named Puzzlehead, is getting smarter every day, and more independent, which at some point makes the scientist feel threatened by his creation. A strange love triangle brings the situation to a boiling point.

I very much liked this small scale and moody sci-fi picture. It's well acted, has an intelligent screenplay and lots of atmosphere. The writer-director never makes the mistake of trying to make his low budget film bigger than it it is, thus keeping it believable.

Unlike so many of the mass-produced, mind numbing works of garbage being pumped out by the Hollywood machine of late, this film was as thought provoking as it was entertaining.

This film is an ideal example of how a little genuine creativity and a lot of hard work and dedication can outdo a large budget, CGI and crowds of extras any day of the week. For that alone, the makers of 'Puzzlehead' deserve much credit. The scene of a drab future world, in which scientific advances are shunned in favor of protecting and preserving our own human concept of humanity, is set flawlessly through the thoughtful use of cinematography and colour.

Ultimately, this film has one questioning which of the many factors we associate with humanity are actually desirable, and which are not. It also raises questions regarding which human traits are necessary in a being in order to regard that being as human. If other humans think it human, does that make it so? I also appreciated the film's insinuation that all things made by man will ultimately suffer from the same innate flaws as man himself.

If you're looking for a film that can stand firmly on its own two feet, without the crutches of a catchy soundtrack, famous actors or multiple explosions, then I would highly recommend that you watch Puzzlehead without delay.

I had the good fortune to see this movie at the Santa Barbara Film Festival and listen to the director and the lead actress in it answer questions. He spent 6 years editing and putting this movie together and it shows despite the obvious budget limitations he faced.

Anyways, the film itself is basically about a man who creates a robot (named Puzzlehead) that looks exactly like him and whose "synaptic map" is a direct copy of his own. The two look the same except for a beard. The man has a crush on a local grocery store clerk and Puzzlehead the robot is the one who ends up finally meeting her. She thinks he's a human etc. and the drama begins. The plot goes from there and i don't want to spoil it but basically there's a lot of twists involving who is the real man and who is the robot and which is ultimately the better person.

The film handles robot artificial intelligence issues really well and shows the progression of how a robot would likely think and the striking differences and similarities between humans and robots. The film makes the audience truly question who is more human. All the technological mumbo jumbo is easy to understand so you don't get into a situation where you're confused (like that movie "Primer"). But the plot does stay a little ahead of the viewer.

The film obviously could have benefited from a bigger budget, but there are an enough circuits and gizmos and filming techniques that convince us that the protagonist created a robot.

There is subtle humor throughout and the plot is constantly engaging. I strongly recommend everyone see this film.

On a side note: the lead actresses's dialogue was all replaced by some other woman's voice to make it sound more eastern European. I was surprised she was at the screening, I would have been mad.