August 23, 2007

Puzzlehead: I, Robot, economy-style

puzzle

Reviewer: James Van Maanen
Rating (out of 5): ***

It's relatively rare to find a low-budget sci-fi film that fires on all cylinders (the last one I can recall was Primer), and if Puzzlehead doesn't detonate the entire bunch, it does manage more than most science fiction. Taking an everyday locale and turning it into a strange, unpleasant and futuristic spot by mere association, filmmaker James Bai (who wrote, directed and produced) also keeps his cast to a minimum: His two lead characters are played by a single actor, and there is basically only one other major speaking part in the entire film.

Economy can't count for everything, however. Fortunately, Bai's story is an interesting one, conflating robots, doppelgangers, and what it means to be human. These are not new topics, but here they're given a pretty intelligent work-out. Specifics are often minimized (perhaps for economy's sake), and while this sometimes works in the film's favor, it also accounts for its inability to rise above the level of... an interesting, low-budget sci-fi film. Surprisingly, Bai has not done another movie since finishing Puzzlehead three years ago. A debut this assured would seem to demand an encore. We're waiting...

Posted by cphillips at August 23, 2007 5:14 PM