— by ALLISON HIGGINBOTHAM —
Spike Jonze is the undisputed king when it comes to directing quirky movies with great visuals. From “Being John Malkovich” to “Adaptation” to his more recent venture, “Where the Wild Things Are,” his movies are always a treat for the eyes and brain. His emphasis on visuals probably harkens back to when he directed music videos and ads, which would also built a great foundation for “I’m Here.”
For “I’m Here,” Spike Jonze collaborated with Absolut Vodka to make this 30-minute short. The story is as follows: A male librarian lives a lonely life with no creativity until he meets a free-spirited girl. As you can tell from the trailer below, the characters also happen to be robots. The entire population isn’t robot though, which probably makes it easier for Jonze to establish the outsider feeling that is prominent in his work.
The trailer looks very cute. Maybe it’s just my love of expressionless things having expressions. Plus, look at the mice! Unfortunately, the trailer doesn’t give us much information about what the themes will be other than love and alienation. Thirty minutes may be all that the story needs, but it would be nice if the short goes more in-depth to the dilemma of being a robot in this world.
“I’m Here” will premiere at the Sundance Film Festival.
Follow Allison Higginbotham on Twitter at http://twitter.com/allisonbh.
Obviously bizarre, but also quite compelling.
Well, that was .. unique.