Review of Herø (2001) by Eliana S — 13 Sep 2017

I'm on the fence about this film. On the one hand, it was brilliantly executed from the cinematography to the plot. The futuristic world was believable and familiar. I especially liked the movie's blunt yet subtle tone of voice throughout the film. The relationship between Theodore and Samantha (the OS) was especially brilliant, the slow growth was believable and made the ridiculous premise plausible. The characters are enjoyable, and I laughed out loud at many parts.

But on the other hand, I feel like the human experience was not properly portrayed. The film seemed to focus on the human traits of love and human growth, especially growing with a person and then outgrowing them. In the world of the film the plot and the ending are perfectly believable and can be accepted by audiences. But as a whole, I feel like the film did not properly reflect human life and experience. There were many emotions and needs that were not addressed to the fullest, such as empathy, physical affection, intuition, aspirations, impulsiveness, the play between pride and humility, and most of all selfless love. The greatest achievement of human experience is sacrificing for the one you love. Of course, if this aspect of human emotion was included in the film, it would've been completely different. Instead of being a film about the difficulties in the need for connection, it would've been a film about the need for selfless love and understanding. This isn't to say that I didn't enjoy the film, as I said it was brilliantly done and I highly recommend it. But it is like looking at a masterpiece and seeing what could've been it the human aspect of the film had been more complicated and well-rounded.