Puzzlehead (2005) User Reviews

Excellent movie, well worth your time...

[rtm1981 · 6/10 · 25 August 2007]

It's seldom nowadays that I find a movie that I feel connects with me intellectually. I guess I've just seen way too many movies! This was a breath of fresh air, let me tell you. At the end of this movie you won't feel like you've visited a 3$ wh***. This movie's story is complete in every way.

Despite all the above praise, I have to mention one thing that led to my average vote. Why no one has commented on this before me, I have absolutely no idea. The acting is atrocious; and there's just no way of getting around it. It's partly because of the mood the director wanted for his movie, but no one in this movie is even close to pulling it off. Even playing the robot, which in the beginning of its creation shouldn't require much skill, they completely miss the mark. In fact, if the story wasn't so genius, and the setting so beautifully laid out, not to mention some of the very artistic filming - I would probably have stopped watching the movie altogether.

well worth your time

[kaleigher · 7/10 · 30 September 2006]

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."

A pleasant surprise

[runamokprods · 7/10 · 1 September 2011]

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.

An oasis in the desert of crappy teen orientated movies

[moviemonstersuk · 9 May 2008]

This movie is one of the most original films I've seen in years. If you like thought provoking films you'll love it, if you are more into action and exploding cars you probably won't be so keen. My only reservation about it is the setting which is only mentioned once and it's tantalisingly left at that. That's fine by me because you can see more or less what's happened but it still would have been nice if the background was a little more consistent. I wanted to see more of it especially as it was so hauntingly shot.

I was interested by a comment someone else posted - "I don't understand how tripe like this can still be churned out in the 21st century with over 100 years of film history behind us.."

It's almost like they are saying movies started off terrible and amateurish and have somehow gone on an evolutionary journey to being better. I don't see that with Hollywood at all, it seems to me as though intelligent movies like this one are a rarity whereas in the past plot was something writers worked at because flashy effects and exploding cars were harder to come by.

"NO movie studio should back things like this." The person adds. Sadly, most studios won't so you have almost got your wish there. It's a shame though because films with an actual story to tell like this one will stay with you a lot longer than that exploding car scene. Each to his own though, I think this is a work of genius but I know a lot of people will disagree simply because it is slow and thoughtful. I personally found the implications quite scary, more so than a CGI monster popping out and a blaring noise to inform the viewer when to jump which is what passes for horror these days.

Well acted, an intelligent screenplay and lots of atmosphere

[Roel1973 · 7/10 · 6 August 2015]

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.

Quite possibly the worst film ever made!

[stocky102000 · 1/10 · 29 August 2007]

Somehow I managed to sit through this film till the end and in doing so feel I deserve an award for pain endurance.

The film is highly predictable, extremely poorly acted (days of our lives bad)and slower than a stoned tortoise.

I rarely take the time to comment but if I can save just one other person the torture of this movie then it was worth the few minutes to type.

I may seem harsh with these comments but in truth these words are the nicest way I could have summed it up.

I don't understand how tripe like this can still be churned out in the 21st century with over 100 years of film history behind us NO movie studio should back things like this.

This would have made excellent material for MST3K

[bcp-3 · 2/10 · 30 March 2011]

This movie sounds promising but just plain doesn't deliver.

A potentially interesting plot is completely ruined by: Terrible acting.

Poorly mixed sound. I had to crank my receiver way up to hear what these poor excuses for actors and actresses were blathering on about.

Beyond low budget filming and effects, what effects?

A kid with a camcorder could have done better.

This would have made for an excellent episode of MST3K.

Hopefully I can save someone from wasting an hour and a half of their lives by steering them clear of this failure.

Man Vs. His Machine Up Close and Intensely Personal

[noralee · 8/10 · 3 May 2005]

"Puzzlehead" is much like an extended "Twilight Zone" episode warning about man creating artificial life in his own flawed image.

It draws on myths from the doppelganger to the golem to Pygmalion and their psychological counterpart in "Fight Club," to sci fi from Asimov's Robot Rules to "Star Trek"'s "Data" character to darkly answering Philip Dick's question "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" (the basis for "Blade Runner"). But this film makes battles about the Rise of the Machines more intensely personal than in "The Matrix" trilogy and even more intimate than in the new "Battlestar Galactica" series.

Several elements raise it up beyond other robot genre films - the look, sound and, to a lesser extent, the role of woman and procreation in this nihilistic future.

While filmed all in Brooklyn, the film looks like it is set in a violent, post-apocalyptic vaguely Eastern European dictatorship, both through the settings and the gritty and changing point-of-view cinematography and editing.

The sound design very effectively adds to the creepy mood. According to Q & A with the director and crew at the Tribeca Film Festival, problems with the original ambient sound necessitated a re-recording of the entire soundtrack, including the actors' voices. Capitalizing on the look, the actors' original voices were replaced by other voice-overs with added accents so that all the speaking has the slightly disconnected feel of dubbed over foreign films, adding to the uneasy theme of relations between man and machine.

The superior music selections, mostly heard Dogme style played in situ, add to the tense atmosphere, from the Yiddish folk song "Dona Dona" (its chorus here is eerily ironic, usually translated as "But whoever treasures freedom/Like the swallow has learned to fly."), to Bach and Scarlatti played on a harpsichord as if it's an automatic player piano.

A unique element to the Frankenstein aspects of the story is the viewer's shifting sympathies between the creator and robot, usually based on how each relates to the woman, even as toward the end we scarily lose track of which one is the human.

Writer/director James Bai, in the Q & A, cited Daniel Keyes' ironic story/novel "Flowers for Algernon" (the basis for the movie "Charly") as an influence, but I was struck more by the warning of human creators transmitting their intrinsically violent and emotional flaws.

This film deals with some of the same issues as "Artificial Intelligence," but is to that film as the recent version of "Time Machine" is to "Primer." It is being showcased by the Alfred Sloan Foundation as the latter film was, for creatively showing science in society.

"Puzzlehead" can definitely be marketed to adult fans of robot movies, sci fi and "The Twilight Zone," but I doubt it will appeal more widely.

Way Better than A.I.

[pthompso · 9/10 · 15 February 2006]

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.

Entertaining and Thought Provoking

[dinchder · 9/10 · 8 September 2007]

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.

Frankensteinesque!

[stevehoyland · 9/10 · 30 November 2016]

Although Puzzlehead Is,by Its main subject matter,listed as Science Fiction, those who are aficionados of that genre will no doubt be disappointed. Puzzlehead Is one for the philosophers and deep-thinkers rather than fans of the neo-swashbucklers such as Star-wars, similarly the technical detail Is kept to a minimum as the focus Is on the relationship between Robot, creator, and the local shop-girl, who form the complicated "Menage-a-trois" which becomes the main subject of this unique and entertaining film. In the not-too-distant future, In an unspecified city In an unspecified country (not Important facts In a movie such as this),after some kind of(again unspecified)apocalypse, a greatly reduced population Is slowly regaining something resembling a stable society. In this dark and foreboding landscape we find Walter, who has spent several years designing and building Puzzlehead, a robot In his own Image, a facsimile of himself In both looks and - to a certain extent - with the same mindset. However, the difference In personalities begins to reveal Itself as Puzzleheads life-experiences begin to expand his mind and, In particular, when the local shop-girl comes Into their lives. How the relationship between these three characters develops Is the main subject and many Interesting questions are raised and explored. The negative comments about this film are very unfair and are, as previously mentioned, probably a result of disappointed sci-fi fans, which I suppose Is understandable to a certain extent. But this dark and disturbing drama ought to be Judged on Its own merits. No bad language, a couple of sex-scenes more Implied than visual, a little violence but no gore, all this means that thrill-seekers will be left feeling distinctly unsatisfied.....but for the thinkers and philosophers there Is a wealth of questions to ponder. It's one of those films which needs and Indeed deserves a second viewing to thoroughly get to grips with Its many aspects and Is one best enjoyed with curtains closed and phones switched off.

Great science fiction movie! Strongly recommend seeing it!

[lawrence-d-rand · 10/10 · 26 April 2005]

This is one of the best science fiction movies that I have ever seen. You will not be disappointed seeing this movie as it will keep your attention for its entirety. Mr. Bai is an excellent writer and the cast of the movie are all top talent. The characters in the movie are all great actors and this movie is a quality work from start to finish. It should receive the highest ratings and awards from the Tribeca Film Festival raters. I strongly recommend seeing it and believe that it will receive numerous awards. Hopefully, Puzlehead will come out in the movies and gross millions of dollars for Mr. Bai, the cast, and crew. Additionally, I hope that Mr. Bai writes a sequel to Puzzlehead since the movie leaves viewers with the belief that there can be one.

More Human Than Humane...

[azathothpwiggins · 15 September 2021]

In some future dystopia, Walter (Stephen Galaida) creates an android he calls PUZZLEHEAD. Fashioned in his own image, Walter instills his creation with his memories and psychological makeup.

All is well until Walter and his "twin" fall in love with the same woman, named Julia (Robbie Shapiro). Julia prefers one over the other, leading to betrayal and disaster.

PUZZLEHEAD is a well-made film about identity and what it means to be human. So, don't expect laser battles or explosions, just intriguing science fiction...