While it came directly to Netflix in most countries, the sci-fi thriller “I Am Mother” was first shown in cinemas here. Meanwhile, you can still stream it on Netflix – but only for a few more days…
Like “Moon” by Duncan Jones or “Ex Machina” by Alex Garland, “I Am Mother” by Grant Sputore is also a science fiction thriller, which for the most part only takes place in a limited setting. But fortunately that doesn’t detract from the suspense – quite the opposite!
However, Netflix subscribers have to hold off a little, because “I Am Mother” is only available on the streaming service until 21 July 2023.
But what is “I Am Mother” actually about?
The very day after the extinction of the entire human race, a lonely android lets an embryo stored in a research bunker mature into a human baby. Years later, the robot, simply called “mother”, is still caring for the “daughter” (Clara Rugaard), who has meanwhile matured into a teenager.
The girl learns ballet, origami and ethics. The artificial intelligence wants to use her success in education to test whether she herself is now suitable enough as a mother to raise the other embryos to become good people. But then an injured woman (Hilary Swank) suddenly appears at the door – and suddenly upsets the established power structure between mechanical mother and human daughter…
THIS IS WHY “I AM MOTHER” IS WORTH WATCHING
Similar to “Ex Machina”, “I Am Mother” inspires even without a blockbuster budget with a truly impressive robot design: The combination of precise motion-capture performance and the usual-grandiose animation work by Weta Digital (including the new “Planet of the Apes” films) make “Mother” seem caring and disturbing at the same time. An ambivalence that is only further fuelled by the clever script and its numerous twists.
This also applies to the finale, the ambiguity of which – at least judging by some comments on the internet – seems to be a bit of a head-scratcher for many viewers. Here we explain the details, in case you should have missed something:
With the addition of the injured woman, there are then ever-shifting alliances: A real competition for the trust of the “daughter” breaks out between the two potential “mothers” – and because we learn little more than the protagonist, it is also almost impossible for us to decide.
Especially since “I Am Mother”, with all kinds of new revelations in quick succession, ensures that you always have to start again with your ethical assessment of the situation anyway.
SHITSTORM FOR THE TRAILER
Normally we place the trailers of the films in our streaming tips at the beginning of the articles – many of you don’t necessarily want to read a lot about a film in advance, which you will probably watch anyway, but just have a quick look at the trailer to see if it could be something for you. But in the case of “I Am Mother”, we decided to put the trailer at the very end.
