3000

An unvoiced and dramatic story about androids.

The plot of this rather intriguing short sci-fi drama evolves around two androids, that appear to be by themselves in the countryside. Both of them have the form of a young adult, one female (Catania) and one male (Millhollan). The female seems to have just arrived there and the male is taking care of her and showing her how to do various things such as using a knife and fork and pretend to eat. The two of them are dressed in white clothing and are occasionally examined by scientists in a laboratory. Initially, things seem calm and organised, however something changes and the atmosphere becomes sinister.

There are no spoken words in this film and the viewing experience is rather interesting. The main focus is the relationship that develops between the two robots, which begins as simple and diplomatic and then becomes romantic. The narrative is nonlinear and it is implied that there is trouble and the male android is becoming unstable. Generally, this could be categorised as a science fiction love story with elements of thriller and self-discovery.

Both protagonists deliver convincing performances as humanoid robots. They are constantly silent and communicate with body language. They look utterly human, apart from a device on the back of their neck that appears to serve as a button and symbols that they have marked on their wrist. From time to time, they also have a liquid blue substance inserted into them through tubes. The female one behaves more humanlike, expressing a variety of emotions. The male one comes across as more in control, more calm and robotic, although that changes later.

Director of photography Miguel Tafich creates wonderful cinematography and Yi Roy Yang does a great job with the editing. The music is tense and dramatic and helps create the right emotions. The creative sound effects play an important part in understanding the narrative.

This is a viewing experience that is worth pusuing. It is a clever way of telling a story, without the use of dialogue and letting the images do most of the work. The result is a film that is moving and at times frightening and beautifully shot.