Ich bin dein Mensch (2021)

Directed by: Maria Schrader | 102 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens, Sandra Hüller, Jürgen Tarrach, Karolin Oesterling, Marlene-Sophie Haagen, Victor Pape-Thies, Falilou Seck, Hans Löw, Inga Busch, Wolfgang Hübsch, Amal Keller, Mignon Remé, Gabriel Munoz Munoz, Franz Schmidt, Annika Meier, Henriette Richter-Röhl, Christoph Glaubacker, Sebastian Schwarz, Monika Oschek

Forties Alma has a blind date. Reluctantly, she hands over coat and bag to the cloakroom lady, before she is taken by her hostess to a table, where her party from that evening is already waiting for her. This Tom immediately takes off, complimenting her appearance in a way that could come straight out of a Bouquet series novel, but Alma – herself a scientist by profession – is not impressed. She then asks him a number of questions that the average date wouldn’t know the answer to, but Tom manages to give the correct answer within tenths of a second. Even stranger: at the start of the date it is already known that Alma will take Tom home, he will live with her for three weeks.

The reason for all this is that Tom is a lifelike robot, specially designed for singles. Based on algorithms, this invention adapts to the wishes of the human half of the relationship. Alma doesn’t like this experiment—because that’s what she’s committed to Tom for—because her faith in love, let alone romance, is nil. And what should she do with such a figure in the house, who can do nothing wrong, who shows no real emotions, who doesn’t even get angry when she throws a glass of drink in his face?

‘Ich bin dein Mensch’ is a successful mix of comedy and science fiction drama. The humor is especially evident in the scenes in which Tom cannot suppress his pre-programmed talents (such as with the colleague who doubts whether something will fit in his car). Just like in the slightly earlier released ‘After Yang’, it is barely noticeable from the surroundings that the film is set in the future and the fact that robots indistinguishable from real people exist is not immediately surprising – although it is played with the prejudices that people have towards robots.

Not everything works in the film: the scenes with Alma’s demented father, for example, don’t add much, although her interaction with her nephew is cute – that’s when she penetrates the heart of the viewer. What the scenario does especially well is investigating the pros and cons of a relationship with a human robot. If you live with someone who does exactly everything right, there is no chance of anything unexpected, something exciting. Isn’t the relationship doomed from the start? And is it good for a person to always be served at his or her beck and call, even if it has not been easy for you in the past?

‘Ich bin dein Mensch’ benefits greatly from the great acting performances of the Briton Dan Stevens, who has a perfect command of German and who also comes across as extremely convincing. You wouldn’t be surprised if a light comes on in his earlobe when he needs to be recharged or something like that. But Maren Eggert also impresses as the skeptical Alma, who initially comes across as a cool frog, but who also shows a whole range of emotions as the story progresses. This film (the German entry for the Oscars) is intelligent, funny and makes you think about the consequences (in the broadest sense) of technological progress.