User reviews

And a very advanced one at that, at least in the movie. In an undisclosed time frame, in cosmopolitan Berlin, artificial intelligence has evolved to the point that robots are indistinguishable from humans. A persnickety academic, Alma (Maren Eggert, in a frosty performance I found endearing) is asked to bring such a specimen home, and report back whether it is suitable for long term companionship, not just as a super efficient cook or housekeeper, but as a partner, a lover.

Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) plays the robot Tom, and his performance is a delightful blend of dry witticisms and self-deprecating humor, aware that humans expect a robotic concoction from a 1950s sci-fi movie, and having fun bursting the balloon, although Tom does experience a few glitches along the way. I'm Your Man aims higher than slapstick love machinations. It selectively doles out rom-com tropes, but also finds a poignancy while delicately posing the question of what it means to be human, and whether the artificial version might be as good or better than the real thing.

It would make a good double bill with "Making Mr. Right".

I'm Your Man: Another film about A. I., consciousness, love and relationships. Basically a romantic drama. Alma (Maren Eggert) is an archaeologist who agrees to beta test an android, Tom (Dan Stevens) who is programmed to be the perfect fit for her emotionally and intellectually. After a couple of teething problems she takes him home but grates at his suggestions. An odd coupe indeed in spite of supposedly being the perfect match. How things between them develop is moulded by Alma's personal and professional life. Her father is ageing and won't admit that he can't cope, Alma grieves over a miscarriage she suffered during a past relationship and her former partner is very much around. Even Alma's childhood is relevant to the narrative. Quite funny but also serious at times in how it deals with people being treated as objects and denied agency. In some ways this is a reverse Stepford Wives. Directed/Co-written by Maria Schrader. 8/10.

I'm quite enamoured with fiction regarding artificial intelligence at the minute, so I jumped at the opportunity to watch this film about a woman who is paired with a humanoid robot who has been programmed to be her ideal partner.

I thought it was a very astute film full of incisive commentary on intimate human relationships and the imperfect nature of love. There was plenty of clever wit throughout, and the performances of Dan Stevens and Maren Eggert were brilliant (Eggert took home the Best Acting award at the Berlin Film Festival). I thought the script by writer-director Maria Schrader was very well written. There's often the risk with films that tackle themes such as these to come across as pretentious, but it was handled well and came across down to earth while also thought-provoking. The minimalistic and isolated score from Tobias Wagner also served well to complement some of the themes of loneliness explored within.

Overall, I'm Your Man (Ich bin dein Mensch) is a very refreshing and unique take on the romantic comedy genre with a lot of hidden depth and thoughtfulness. An excellent addition to Maria Schrader's screenwriting and directing career.

Greetings again from the darkness. The thing about humans is that we are always looking towards the future to see how we can make things easier, better, or more exciting. This is often with an eye towards more fuel-efficient cars, smaller and more powerful computers, and more effective medical treatments. Writer-director Maria Schrader and co-writer Jan Schomburg have adapted the short story from Emma Braslavsky and turn the lens to relationships and love. Is it possible to advance inter-personal relations to the point of perfection? Would that even be desirable or preferable to the messiness that's gone on since the beginning of time?

It's actually the film's premise that impresses most. Maren Eggert stars as Alma, an Anthropologist who has dedicated years of her life to leading a team documenting the earliest human use of poetry. Alma is a serious and determined woman, and one who bears the scars of a recent breakup. She's drawn into an extraordinary experiment that blends high-tech with sociology. Advanced robots have been developed to become the "perfect" mate, and are programmed specifically for one person. Alma has agreed to the three-week trial, and her robot is Tom (played well by Dan Stevens, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, 2017).

Their initial interactions are quite awkward as Alma is skeptical and Tom is programmed to constantly and quickly learn and evolve based on Alma's reactions. Despite Alma's hope for companionship and recognition of her own biological clock, she seems to catch herself anytime she begins to feel a bit of joy. She never imagined that her pursuit of happiness would be dependent on advanced robotics. To monitor the progress, the program's director, played by Sandra Huller (TONI ERDMANN, 2016) periodically checks in. And yes, she holds her own secrets.

This is a clever film that delves a bit deeper into human emotions than we originally anticipate. It also contains quite a bit of humor - the initial dance club introductions are pretty funny, as is Tom's facial expression each time he's tweaking his algorithms. We do learn flirting is "difficult to program", although in today's society, that's a treacherous path anyway. Of course, Alma slowly comes around to the idea of an artificial relationship - one that by definition can never be real. The film is not at the level of EX MACHINA (2014), although it's less about technological advances and more about self-realization. Ms. Schrader's film is plenty entertaining to watch and one that slyly points out many flaws of us human beings, while delivering an unexpected ending.

Greetings from Lithuania.

"Ich bin dein Mensch" (2021) had a nice premise and could have been great. Yet this movie was just OK for me. Maybe it is because its a dramedy, yet it did not work as good drama, nor comedy, nor sci-fi, nor satire. It was just OK in all those things, so at the end of the day this movie was just OK for me - nothing more and nothing else.

Overall, while it had nice premise and could have been something truly original, at the end of the day this movie wasn't that great. Its not bad for sure and some will enjoy it very much, yet for me it was a movie that tried to make many things at the same time, and eventually did not made great neither of them. Its an OK movie to see it once.

It is the first date for Alma and Tom. She tests him. Tom is intelligent, funny, perceptive, insightful, charming, good-looking, appreciative of her interests, concerned for her well-being, and even knows her favorite poem by heart. He passes everything Alma throws at him even though she is cold and skeptical. Tom appears to know her better than she knows herself. This is because Tom is an advanced robot created for with one purpose to serve, her happiness.

Tom learns from every moment with Alma and morphs into something better, yet she treats him like a machine or a piece of meat, underestimating him, leaving him to stand in the rain, and turning cliches about men on their head. Perhaps she just needs more time. Spending time in the forest together and looking at pictures of Alma as a child, Tom and Alma could dissolve and become part of something bigger.

I'm Your Man is a different kind of science fiction that, like the Tales from Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin, explores the realm of our hearts rather than battlefields on distant planets. The film is complex and well crafted, exploring emotions in a variety of ways, and revolving around themes of free will, fears of being left alone, what it means to love someone, and more. Each component of film making is not neglected. There is a scene looking over the rooftops and spires of Berlin at night that is so beautiful. Maren Eggert (Alma) won a silver bear in Berlin for her performance. The film appeared at the Toronto festival as well.

Summary:

Remarkable film that with great sensitivity and intelligence and from science fiction addresses a mid-life crisis and deconstructs the love bond and romanticism, but without giving it up.

Review

Alma is an anthropologist who works in a Berlin museum doing research on cuneiform writing. To obtain funds, she agrees to participate in a scientific test where she must live for three weeks with an android programmed to satisfy all her wishes.

The film by Maria Schrader (director of the Unorthodox miniseries and the film Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe) manages with this story to combine and reflect on various issues without remaining a mere anecdote.

First of all, the German title, Ich bin dein Mensch, is significant. It is not "dein Mann" (man in the sense of male human) but "dein Mensch", which in German means man, but as a human being in general. And this distinction is relevant for everything that the film addresses. And the "Ich bin" (I am) places the title in the first person of the humanoid.

Of course, the film reflects and acutely on the implications of relating physically and emotionally with a humanoid and algorithms-base affinity and it does so many times in the voice of Alma (an extraordinary Maren Eggert), especially when she speaks with the humanoid Tom (Dan Stevens, beautiful, perfect and measured and speaking in German). And the story is also placed on Tom's side.

But co-writer Maria Schrader goes beyond the plots of the science fiction story and frames it in the midlife crisis that it triggers in Alma, a woman who seems to put all her energy into her profession, who is not recovered from her injuries and that he is capable of a certain aggressive cynicism. And she adds a lucid study on power relations and alterity in love ties, because What does it mean to relate to someone whose main objective is to please us? What kind of link can be established under this premise? Is there an other? Can love and happiness prosper?

The film knows how to raise its questions not only with the spoken word and of course it outlines some answers. But his main merit lies in the realm of the ineffable (there is a remarkable scene in a forest in this sense), in the climates (which include an effective use of comedy) that it knows how to create with a sensitivity and delicacy that at times appear to the abyss and in others to hope, in this story that deconstructs the love bond and romanticism without giving it up.

'I'm your man' is funny, it's charming, it's entertaining but also insigthful when it needs to be, it's exactly what I wanted from the film's description.

In order to obtain research funds for her anthropology studies, Alma reluctantly accepts an offer to participate in an extraordinary experiment: for three weeks, she is to live with Tom, a humanoid robot created to make her happy.

Tom meets Alma at "a bar" which we quickly learn is an event designed to capture romantic feelings, a façade to initially test the A. I. flirting mecanisms and interactions with humans, the whole ordeal is a failure and this is just the beginning of Tom's rocky relationship with an unenthusiastic Alma.

Although Tom is design to be her dream guy, the "socially awkward" robot interactions of the first half of the film are some of the most funny and meaningful parts of the film. Tom is full of corny compliments, he's protective, he plans her ideal date nights, he does all her household chores, he is perfect... he's boring. But we quickly learn Tom's system is designed to learn from her responses and will truly become her ideal match... or will he?

The film definitely touches many themes we have seen explored before, but it displays their elements very cleverly even mixing some moments of tragedy but with a more optimistic approach to story than I initially expected from the film. 'I'm your man' escapes the cliché of technology turning against humanity and has more of an emotional approach to the characters bond, as the main conflict doesn't necessarily lies on Alma's 'abusing' the system with this relationship which leads to their downfall but more on her current inability to open up- overcoming her history and a new chance to accept that type of interaction into her life (again), with someone who may not entirely comprehend her emotional baggage at first... but he may be able to if given the chance.

Maybe the parts related to Alma's past and current job situation wasn't was interesting to me as the main relationship was, but the themes of her scientific work definitely added a layer of depth to her relationship with Tom. The film has the ending everyone expects though... it is the type of thing we have seen before, but the last scene is quite impactful.

Maren Eggert and Dan Stevens are great leads for this film, they have a lot of chemistry and even the akwardness of their interactions is insanely entertaining. I didn't even know I liked Dan Stevens until I saw him speaking german and acting robotic.

'I'm your man' is a good choice if you are looking for a fun rom-com with a bit more phylosophical depth to its plot.

Germany's official entry to 2022's Oscars is great, original, poetic and deep. Its romantic story is brilliant and philosophical, it opens up so many important questions. Performances are superb. This film is just well made, highly entertaining and so powerful.

An ancient language researcher agrees to host an artificial life form for three weeks, in order to access whether or not they would make ideal romantic partners. The film bounces between rom-com tropes and interesting poetic philosophy. It is a mixed bag, but generally enjoyable. I especially liked the two lead performances.

In some ways, it is a remake of Making Mr. Right with John Malkovich from the 80's, but more thoughtful and less silly. Dan Steven is incredible with his fluent German, his sense of timing, and his relentless portrayal of a wise piece of artificial intelligence. He is very convincing as a robot, yet his nonsappy performance humanizes him in a different manner and creates a strong sense of comfort. His character is warm, intelligent and instantly wise when confronted with the wild and unpredictable activities of the human, whom he is tasked to connect with.

Overall the film is strong and powerful as a take on how technology is now and soon will be predominant in our lives, and all the considerations we must learn to examine and exercise when choosing how much we want to utilize and interact with the many versions.

Follows a very interesting motive. Dan Stevens is great at characterising a roboter, very good and unique way of acting. I had some problems however with not losing interest in the relationship of Alma and Tom, even though some interesting situations come up. The movies has about 30 Minutes between the interesting start and the good ending which bored me. Still, some stuff to think about.

We always search for an ideal and perfect partner but we don't realize the opportunities and blessings that imperfection could give us. If you are not vulnerable and don't have shame to share with your partner then how you can build empathy and compassion.

After watching this sci-fi romantic drama you begin to realize that maybe the greatest humans inventions could make our lives easier but not necessarily better. The idea of the movie plot was brilliant, the quality of acting and directing was satisfying but I'd expect the leading character's career that was analyzing ancient monuments and bridges a connection to the heroine's challenges in modern life.

There's an intractable problem in our society in that many people who seek love and companionship fail to find someone. I'm Your Man is an exploration of the coming time when AI and robotics will be advanced enough to fill that void. When robots can be programmed to be a compatible partner, what will it mean for humanity? Will they just fill a necessary role for the loveless / unlovable, or will they negatively impact on what we see as a healthy relationship?

I'm Your Man tells the tale of Dr. Alma Felser (Maren Eggert), a single middle-aged researcher, as she reluctantly trials "dating" a companion robot (Dan Stevens) to ethically evaluate the technology. It's a thoughtful and sombre look at relationships, companionship, the fear of loneliness, and how technology may come to fulfill those needs. The film is treading familiar territory, though its novelty is in telling the story from a perspective the genre too often neglects.

The main premise of the movie hurts the overall message and gives it a weekend afternoon feel to the story. Another premise or, at least, a more serious/strong delivery could have elevated the message even more. In any case, the mid-life introspection and aging/loneliness/soulmate background of the characters is what makes this movie watchable and worth the time.

Wonderful exploration on the essence of partnership, set in contemporary Berlin. Can we shape our happiness by conscient fabrications? Dan Stevens is hilarious and profoundly heartwarming as the oh so perfect robot mate. Maren Eggert's portrayal of Alma juggling reason and longing is relatable on so many levels. Her acting feels effortless in the best possible sense. Memorable visuals and soundtrack, too. After Unorthodox the next intellectually and emotionally remarkable, yet entertaining piece of director Maria Schrader.

Ich bin dein Mensch is a powerfull movie, not just a rom-com. It is more a movie about humanity, and what it means to be human. When I read the synopsis, I thought this would be kinda like the superb movie 'Her'. The latter is more about 'can you fall in love with AI' where this movie is more about 'should you fall in love with AI'? This is shown from Alma's perspective, who deals with grief in many forms and is under stress because of her father's Alzheimer. Although it is not as good as 'Her', this movie certainly hits the themes right and the score is wonferfull. I also loved the Berlin background, since it's familiar to me and it was done with beautiful shots. 7.5/10.

The possible intersections of artificial intelligence, authenticity, human feeling and romance have been mined in many ways in books and film before, but "I'm Your Man" brings a delicacy and fresh and contemporary feel to the concept. It dances between gentle comedy and pathos; it sparks your imagination and makes you ponder "what if?" It's slow-paced but engrossing throughout, building layers. The actors are fantastic, especially Dan Stevens - instead of playing it broad, his is a light touch, combining adorability, mystery, innocence and subtle comedy. I found myself a bit unsatisfied at the ending, but I think that's because we're all hard-wired to expect the big romantic wrap-up, but really anything else would have been off-kilter and not in keeping with the tone of the film. In short, this is a charming movie that makes you think - and root for the female character to get beyond her intellectualism and patterns of thought and simply indulge in happiness.

It's a good movie, whenever it makes you think! Add a good performance from Dan Stevens and a little humor to produce an enjoyable and thoughtful film, which talks about many things and gives you enough space to think about them.

Although sometimes it gets cliche, and some events in the movie are unnecessary, this is a respectable, fun-to-watch movie!

Not since Carrie Bradshaw have I seen a female character who is supposed to be contemplative and observant written as immature and inconsiderate as Alma. She is an archeologist so there is obviously no lack of intelligence, but every moment she's onscreen, Alma comes across as resentful and shallow. She agreed to this experiment, she's a scientist whose entire life's work is about observing human development, and yet she acts like a child angry that the stepfamily has moved in and invaded her space. There are no deep, intelligent exchanges between the characters, only a one-note robot mansplaining to Alma what she needs to do to be happy and a supposed mature scientist basically giving him the finger for two hours. Dan Stevens is a gift and his performance was adorable, rising well above the material; otherwise, this film was more irritating than engaging.