Teknolust (2002)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Lynn Hershman-Leeson

Writer:

Lynn Hershman-Leeson (writer)

Release Date:

24 February 2005 (Israel)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Drama | Romance

Plot:

Anxious to use artificial life to improve the world, Rosetta Stone, a bio-geneticist creates a Recipe...

Plot Keywords:

Rosetta Stone | Impotence | Cyborg | Virgin | Actor Playing Multiple Roles

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Tilda Swinton	...	Rosetta / Ruby / Marinne / Olive
Jeremy Davies	...	Sandy
James Urbaniak	...	Agent Hopper
John O'Keefe	...	Professor Crick
Karen Black	...	Dirty Dick
Al Nazemian	...	Dr. Bea
S.U. Violet	...	Dr. Aye
Josh Kornbluth	...	Tim
Thomas Jay Ryan	...	Preacher
Howard Swain	...	Alex
Diana Demar	...	Dana
John Pirruccello	...	Hair Dresser
Abigail Van Alyn	...	Sandy's Mom
Dick Bright	...	Phil
John Bradford King	...	Nathan (as Brad King)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexual content.

Runtime:

85 min | Canada:81 min

Country:

USA | Germany | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

USA:R | Australia:MA | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Blue Turtle

Movie Connections:

Features The Last Time I Saw Paris (1954)

Heavily symbolic and metaphorical but not much technology or lust

Don't be fooled by the provocative title and the R-rating, this film has only implied sex and only the briefest nudity. Rather, it is a thought-provoking but odd piece of work that delves into the meaning of relationships between men and women, the need to experience life's pain along with pleasures, and the different roles that we play to survive in society. The film is about a scientist who creates three computer generated/robotic duplicates of her own self. The duplicates exist in a virtual reality "safe" from the harm that the real world can levy on them. As the film progresses, we see through the interactions with the main character that they have become her alter egos. Trouble brews when they start to become self-aware and want more freedom. As I watched the film I was surprised by the apparent low budget it was made with but how it outshines most big-budget Hollywood blockbusters in its depth and scope. The acting is OK but amateurish, with occasional bad timing and wooden responses. The dialogue seems to get a little too long and pretentious at times and you have to be very attentive to catch the double entendres and metaphors in order to keep up with the script. Despite all this, it was a very good movie that proves that there is under-appreciated talent out there that Hollywood refuses to acknowledge. People that liked films like Slaughterhouse-5, Orlando, or the Handmaid's Tale would be advised to give this film a try.