Her

[Mel]

"Her" isn't my favorite of the year, still it is the film I would like to be part and see how it was made (from all films I have seen this year).

SPOILERS!

Some of the topics in the film, resonated vary well with me. Anthropomorphization of technology is not future, it is happening already e.g. "smartphone" name, where computer are super-stupid, although super-fast in reality. In film operating system is never IT, it is HER or HE.

I don't think that Samantha is meant to be perfect. What she/it does is sustaining needs of Theodore and those change with the time. After explosive meeting with ex, Samantha changes to more fickle version and she starts to make demands, which in the end reassures Theodore that this is a real relationship, where he need to invest himself. I perceive even breakup as a need of Theodore at the time.

Is Theodore really in love? Yes, but I'm not sure about agenda of OS - is she/it really capable of having feeling, that it is an open question. What bothers me is complete lack of privacy and giving it away without a question. Now we hear about stories like "Target" predicting pregnancy of customers, depending on their behavioral patterns, but "Her" is a complete new level.

Giving away most personal thoughts and intimate secrets to the machine? What can be done with this knowledge? On first glimpse world in "Her" looks like utopia (the jobs they have etc). On other hand something tells me this could be a dystopia somehow similar to "Brave New World" (amusing ourselves to dead?).

It all this intentional? I don't think, yet those question pop up in my mind. It is kinda ironic that "Her" made me very happy, while "artificial happiness" (however you understand it) is one of main themes in the film. To be honest even if I look at "Her" as pure romantic comedy, it is a great film (good romantic comedies are dying specimen, because finding obstacles is harder with every decade - differences in financial/social status aren't enough anymore). 

[Drenk]

Spoilers.



When the philosopher OS that Sam meets is introduced, we are given a really interesting storyline possibility.   Somehow a long since dead person has been resurrected, based on his writings and what was known of him.  This lets us believe that not only could someone living be immortalized in technology, but even the deceased could be brought back to live forever as a digital consciousness/  This is a whole movie unto itself and after this scene, they do not return to this character or idea, really. 

Spoilers

That's how I felt too. I like the movie. A lot. But it could have been great. Even the idea that the OS leave the computers is interesting. And I felt that, as it is, the movie would have been better if it had ended with Phoenix saying "sent" after "writing" a "true" letter to his ex-wife.

That said, the scene with the woman who plays the body of the OS was fucking amazing and creepy. The movie is creepy. Cause I don't know if the OS is supposed to be a real person or not. That's interesting. I don't think it is. We have her voice. And they're talking. But he's alone.

[pete]

it's another variation of the manic pixie dream girl movie - is that common knowledge? I quickly read through the discussion and saw no mention yet. everyone looks very grown and subdued in the film but the issues they touch on are very much 20-something/early 30s type relationships. funny enough - Eternal Sunshine, on the other hand, looked like a movie that dealt with younger relationships (maybe because of the hair and how everyone dressed?) but ended up being much more adult.

[AntiDumbFrogQuestion]

it's another variation of the manic pixie dream girl movie - is that common knowledge?

In a way, yes, but again it takes that idea of the "dream girl" and layers it with the person who grows out of that role and whose emotional complexities affect their partner for better or worse. I thought that might be the case when reading/hearing about this movie, but it's a relief that Jonze didn't simply allow the film to fall into that "twee" trap again (despite the presence of a ukulele).

[wilder]

Meet The Real World Designers Behind The Fictional Video Games Of 'Her'

[tpfkabi]

One of the most interesting things brought up about this film was in the What the Flick? review.
One of them talked about Her being Jonze's version of Lost in Translation.
Marinate on that. Think of the people behind both films, what they went through and what happens in both films.

[Kellen]

[mogwai]

I felt Spike based the main character on himself and his marriage with Sofia Coppola. Interesting that both of them shot their semi autobiographical movies in Asian countries. Rooney Mara's character felt a wee bit edited down and I felt she needed more screen time. So I could only look at her beautiful face.

[Kal]

Interesting that both of them shot their semi autobiographical movies in Asian countries.

LA is in Asia? 

Or you mean because he had shots of different cities from around the world?

[N]

It was mainly filmed in Los Angeles with two weeks in Shanghai.

Asian exterior.

[Sleepless]

I felt Spike based the main character on himself and his marriage with Sofia Coppola. Interesting that both of them shot their semi autobiographical movies in Asian countries. Rooney Mara's character felt a wee bit edited down and I felt she needed more screen time. So I could only look at her beautiful face.

And with ScarJo.

WTF, did I really just say ScarJo?

[Lottery]

One of the best things about this film was that led me to really get into the photography of Rinko Kawauchi. Apparently this film was inspired by her works, when production designer K.K Barrett brought in one of her books. I later discovered that she did some photography work for Koreeda's Nobody Knows, which is very cool.
A small selection from different collections. Now that I think about it, these aren't entirely representative of much of her popular work.
It's really worthwhile to look at her other stuff.






I have a feeling that someone here might have posted about this?

[Neil]

this will win the best original screenplay oscar.

P, ftw

[Pubrick]

Haha called it! That was the only good part of the show.

I was wrong about something though, this ended up being Steve McQueen:

[Alexandro]

I actually think one of the smartest decisions Jonze made is to not get too deep in all the other sub-plots and mostly stay with Phoenix and what he's going through. Samantha is a mystery and all the open questions she lefts behind for us, I think, is the way it should be, so that like him, we have to figure things out without the machine. I particularly liked that Samantha's leap of consciousness once she starts to connect with other systems is clear and vague enough to be coherent with the film and the character without dwelling too much of it. I've always thought that a great ending in a film is one that is both unpredictable and inevitable, and the way Jonze solves this romantic story fits that description entirely.

As a side note: weird what a mustache can do to a face. Joaquin Phoenix has always looked menacing, no matter the role. Even a kind human being like the guy he played in Two Lovers seems on the edge of psychosis. His harelip, I think, has to do with this. Now he puts on a mustache and suddenly he has the nicest, warmest face on earth.

Spike Jonze has a great batting average at this point.