Human (I) (2017) User Reviews

Good premise actually, but underwhelming execution

[Horst_In_Translation · 4/10 · 14 September 2018]

"Human" is a British 25-minute live action short film from 2017 and this one was written and directed by Patrick Michael Ryder, written together with his wife maybe? Or sister. The name implies that. Anyway, it is a little science fiction movie about a scientist entering unknown territory and about the creature she meets there and the special connection they make. i liked the general setting and idea here to be honest. It's nothing too innovative or so, but it could have made for a convincing work given the element of mystery, maybe even thriller that comes with it. Sadly, the execution is not on par with the idea. The acting by the lead performer here was not particularly convincing in these scenes when she interacts with the robot creature I must say. It was sometimes over the top, but never felt like really hitting the right notes for an intriguing performance. She was better when she talked to the camera about her (alleged) crimes, but the problem there was that these scenes never really felt like they fit in there in my opinion and were a weakness from the story perspective, almost filler material you could say. So overall, this film came pretty short and I don't think I am just saying this because science fiction has never really been my favorite genre, but also from the perspective of judging film quality from a neutral point of view. The (to me) surprisingly low imdb ating is not inaccurate. It is a bit of a shame as they obviously had the ambition to come up with something much better here than it actually turned out to be and I don't think money (or lack thereof) was the problem this time. There are several other weaknesses though, most of all in the story department and to be honest these pseudo wise words by the robot at the end about what it means to be human and how he is not felt pretty pretentious because said wisdom also only comes with being a human. It felt pretty false I must say, maybe the weakest moment of the film what was supposed to be the best, which means the film goes out on a low note too. It also started on one with narration that did not sound too good. All in all, a thumbs-down. Don't watch.

Man, what a stinker

[martinf-6 · 1/10 · 21 October 2018]

This movie represents an utter lack of talent by all parts involved. Acting, story, whatever. Way to go to make 25 minutes feel like an eternity.

Nothing to declare

[CutUncut2021 · 1/10 · 10 September 2019]

Apart from the smooth camera operation and trendy cyberpunk sets of disused factories, it seems unlikely that the director(s) of this short film paid much attention during his classes in film-making: there is no grasp of sequential editing nor or storytelling (it's a series of loosely interlinked vignettes separated by fade-outs). Add the crummy acting and tawdry piano plinking, and you've got a turkey long dead. It is intelligence not funding that is at issue here. If the mass of accolades vaunted on the poster are genuine (Miami and Los Angeles repeated several times) then the entire system of festivals and awards is suspect.

A wonderful touching tale

[softcell-13244 · 10/10 · 19 March 2020]

A pure delight, well acted, and just lovely, with emotion, a stunning soundtrack also.