"Electroma" or "I refuse to make a stupid pun in the title of any post about a movie"

So Daft Punk have done a little movie, which I caught at The Mayfair this Friday night past. I'm still thinking about it two days later and since it is a highly unusual film that is primarily doing the "midnight movie" circuit, I reckon it's worth talking a little about it here.

Firstly I think it's only fair to tell you what I wish I had been told. There is no music by Daft Punk in the film. None at all! There is a soundtrack that was selected by them, but nothing actually by them. Those hoping for an extended music video would be far better off pursuing a copy of Interstella 5555.

It's also short, though not a short, clocking in at 74 minutes. Odds are though, it will not feel short. Some shots, particularly later in the film, push the one minute mark. These shots are primarily of our two protagonists - actors done up in the traditional robot garb of the two lads who make up Daft Punk - wandering a Californian desert. The entire movie takes place in a nameless, dry area of California. But this is not a Hollywood movie by any stretch.

The promotional email I received used a lot of the usual suspects names to endorse it. I think the only name worth mentioning is Michel Gondry, who I could have sworn had been brought in to direct one of the middle scenes, and perhaps George Lucas - though only for THX 1138 .

I can't talk about the story really, since it is very minimal. Let's just say that they are on a journey and leave it at that. I will say that you do get treated to good music (just not Daft Punk), inventiveness, very strong cinematography and even a few laughs. It's easy to lose yourself in the film and that's always a lovely feeling, but at parts it is also easy for your mind to wander elsewhere. It's worth watching and it could easily find itself being studied by future generations of film students, but I'm not sure I'm entirely comfortable with the $10 I spent on admission. If anybody who reads this here ol' website ends up seeing it, I'd love to hear what your impressions were.