Daft Punk’s Electroma Powers
Out this Fall

Michelle da Silva

Daft Punk is known for many things. They are known for never showing their faces. They are known for singles like “Around the World” and “One More Time”. They are even known for harbouring a borderline unhealthy obsession with robots. This September, Daft Punk would like to be known for one more thing: directing feature films.

Daft Punk’s Electroma is the French DJ duo’s feature film debut.  Having directed their own music videos for singles “Fresh,” “Robot Rock,” and “Technologic,” Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter felt it was a natural transition from music video to feature film. 

Daft Punk’s Electromafollows the quest of two hero robots on the quest to become human. The film opens with the robots, representations of Daft Punk, driving through a Southwestern landscape in a Ferrari with a license plate that reads “HUMAN”. The robots drive through a town where all the inhabitants are also robots before they arrive at a high-tech black and white facility to begin their human transformation. The rest of the film tracks pair as they discover the fate of their false transformations.

While the film has great, pretentious art-house appeal, the overall effect of the film is not for the impatient. There is no dialogue in all 72 minutes of the film, only music - none of which is by Daft Punk. Most of the film follows the robots driving through the desert, walking through the desert, or watching ice-cream melt in the desert. Rabid fans of Daft Punk will not necessarily love this film, and those that are not fond of the duo’s music will not necessarily dislike this film. 

Daft Punk’s Electroma falls into the category of films that spawn cult followings.  While it was misunderstood to most of the audience when it debuted at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, it was positively received at a midnight screening in Paris. A select few viewers have already witnessed this film at July’s world-wide premiers. Come September you too can make like a French art film connoisseur and rate Daft Punk’s Electroma when it is released and distributed by Vice Records.