Ex Machina (film)

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Movie
German title Ex machina
Original title Ex machina
Logo ex machina.png
Country of production United Kingdom
original language English
Publishing year 2015
length 108 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
JMK 12
Rod
Director Alex Garland
script Alex Garland
production Andrew Macdonald ,
Allon Reich
music Geoff Barrow ,
Ben Salisbury ,
Oliver Cheatham
camera Rob Hardy
cut Mark Day
occupation

Ex Machina is a British feature film directed by Alex Garland , which was released in UK theaters on January 21, 2015 and in German theaters on April 23, 2015.

action

The young programmer Caleb, who works for the provider of the market-dominating Internet search engine Bluebook , receives an in-house competition to invite him to a meeting with Nathan, the wealthy and eccentric company founder he admires.

To his surprise, his property, secured by elaborate electronic systems, is located in the middle of a secluded natural landscape that can only be reached by helicopter. In addition to Nathan, there is only his young Japanese companion, Kyoko. Nathan reveals to Caleb, who is still surprised, that he is doing secret research on artificial intelligence on his property and offers him the opportunity to collaborate. Caleb is supposed to subject his study object, the female android Ava, to a week-long Turing test to determine whether Ava has a mind that is equal to humans.

Caleb agrees and signs a confidentiality agreement . Watched by security cameras by Nathan, he has a series of conversations with Ava, who is in an armored glass-screened living area. Through her gentle and intelligent conversation, she manages to convince Caleb of her individuality and to build an emotional relationship with him. Faced with her impending "death" from reprogramming after completing the test, he decides to disable the property's security systems and flee with Ava.

Nathan reveals to him that he, Caleb, was the actual test subject of his study. He wanted to find out whether the machine Ava could succeed in influencing him to the point that he betrayed the humans Nathan. When Ava actually manages to escape from her living area thanks to Caleb's precautions, Nathan tries to forcibly deactivate her.

Ava turns out to be a cool, calculating being. It turns out that she used Caleb's affection deliberately to organize her escape. With the help of Kyoko, who also turns out to be a female Android, she stabs Nathan. Kyoko is smashed by Nathan, who struggles with death. Ava leaves Caleb locked in the house; In the absence of a correct key card , he cannot leave the room he is in without your help. Ava Calebs then takes his place in the helicopter ready for his departure, fulfilling her previously expressed longing for a life among people. At the end you can see her standing at a busy intersection . She had previously confessed to Caleb that it was her greatest wish to be able to observe people and their behavior at such an intersection "in the middle of life".

background

The motif that robots get rid of people, once they develop a consciousness that can already be found in the 1920 published play RUR by Karel Capek , which also used the term "robot" for the first time. The artificial robot woman was synthesized based on Caleb's preferences when searching for erotic photos using the search engine, reminiscent of Jean Baudrillard's culture of simulation. The thesis that artificial intelligence will sooner or later surpass human intelligence is also represented by Hans Moravec in his book "Mind Children".

The screenwriter Alex Garland made his directorial debut with Ex Machina .

The budget for the film was around eleven million euros. The film was shot in different locations in Norway and London. The studio recordings were made at Pinewood Studios Iver Heath.

The UK theatrical release was on January 21, 2015. By early May 2015, the film grossed over US $ 21 million .

The test Caleb is supposed to perform on Ava is an extended Turing test .

reception

Reviews

The film received mostly positive reviews. At Rotten Tomatoes , 91% of reviews are positive, out of a total of 169 reviews; the average rating is 8.1 / 10. At Metacritic , the film received a rating of 78/100 based on 42 reviews.

The film service described the film as a "masterfully staged science fiction film". Both the “cool and strict design” and the “elegant camera work” would convince.

The epd film , however, judged that the story's potential was not being exhausted. The “allusions to Wittgenstein, Oppenheimer or Noam Chomsky” are too “grandiose” , and the film does not pursue the question of the “ construction of femininity and gender identities” enough.

Kino Kino , the film magazine on Bavarian television, describes Alex Garland's directorial debut as intelligent science fiction, a disconcerting chamber play, largely cool and intellectual like Stanley Kubrick's films. “'Ex Machina' is about striving for perfection and the value of humanity. For this purpose, the director has three characters meet in a secluded luxury villa. Oscar Isaac as an internet billionaire, Domhnall Gleeson as a programming expert, and Alicia Vikander as Ava. How Garland uses the claustrophobic mood (which was also an important part of his scripts for Dredd , The Beach , 28 Days Later or Sunshine ) and unfolds the drama precisely and mercilessly shows that he is one of the most important as a director as well as a screenwriter Voices in current British cinema. "

Awards and nominations
Academy Awards 2016
Golden Globe Awards 2016
British Academy Film Awards 2016

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Release certificate for Ex Machina . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , March 2015 (PDF; test number: 150 280 K).
  2. ↑ Age rating for Ex Machina . Youth Media Commission .
  3. ↑ Alex Garland ("Ex Machina") is planning the literary film adaptation "Annihilation" as his second feature film ( memento of the original from July 7, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , kino-zeit.de, last accessed: April 9, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.kino-zeit.de
  4. ↑ Sci-Fi for an Intelligent Audience Gamona, February 23, 2015, last accessed April 9, 2015
  5. ↑ Box Office Mojo: Ex Machina , last accessed May 9, 2015
  6. ↑ Ex Machina (2015). Rotten Tomatoes , accessed May 1, 2015 .
  7. ↑ Ex Machina. Metacritic , accessed May 1, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Ex Machina. Film service , accessed April 13, 2015 .
  9. ↑ Patrick Heidmann: Ex Machina. epd film, 04/2015, p. 66f. , accessed April 1, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Florian Kummert: Science-Fiction-Drama. Ex machina. In: Kino Kino. Bayerischer Rundfunk, March 16, 2015, archived from the original on May 18, 2015 ; Retrieved July 25, 2017 .
  11. ↑ https://nationalboardofreview.org/award-names/top-10-independent-films/