''I'm Here'' is a 2010 American
short film
A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...
, written and directed by
Spike Jonze
Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television.
Jonze ...
.
The film is a
science fiction
Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...
love story about two robots living in Los Angeles where humans and robots co-exist. The plot is based on the 1964 book ''
The Giving Tree
''The Giving Tree'' is an American Children's literature, children's picture book written and illustrated by Shel Silverstein. First published in 1964 by Harper & Row, it has become one of Silverstein's best-known titles, and has been translate ...
'', and the main character is named after its author
Shel Silverstein
Sheldon Allan Silverstein (; September 25, 1930 – May 10, 1999) was an American writer, cartoonist, songwriter, and musician. Born and raised in Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, Silverstein briefly attended university before being drafted into ...
. The film's robots were created by
Alterian, Inc., a Los Angeles–based effects company notable for their costume design for
Daft Punk
Daft Punk were a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement, combining house music, funk, disco, tech ...
.
The film was funded by and is a promotion for
Absolut Vodka
Absolut Vodka is a brand of vodka, produced near Åhus, in southern Sweden. Absolut is a part of the French group Pernod Ricard. Pernod Ricard bought Absolut for €5.63 billion in 2008 (equivalent to € in ) from the Swedish state. Absolut ...
, featuring the tagline "A Love Story in an Absolut World" on the promotional poster. Music from the band
Sleigh Bells is prominently featured. The film made its debut at the 2010
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
.
Plot
Sheldon (
Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. After his breakout role in '' Boy A'' (2007), he came to international attention with the supporting role of Eduardo Saverin in the drama ''The Social Network'' ...
) is a gray robot with a head shaped like an old PC tower. Every day, he rides the bus to the public library then rides home again at the end of the day to recharge himself in his apartment. He appears unhappy and forlorn until one day, while waiting for the bus, he sees Francesca (
Sienna Guillory), a sleekly-designed woman robot, driving a car (despite an apparent ban on robots driving). He sees her again the next day, driving with several other robots and one shirtless human. Though she passes by him at first, she turns her car around and offers Sheldon a ride home, which he accepts.
Francesca stops at a mall and she, and Sheldon, walk off together while she sticks pieces of paper on an "Exit" sign and a palm tree. The papers show a drawing of long hair and eyebrows with the words "I'm here". Francesca falls off a ledge and injures her knee. Sheldon repairs her knee with his built-in toolkit, and they listen to "There Are Many of Us" by ASKA & The Lost Trees on her car radio.
Sheldon and Francesca grow closer. One night, while they are lying together in Sheldon's apartment, Francesca tells Sheldon about her dreams, something Sheldon thought was impossible for robots to have. The two later go to a rock concert, where Francesca gets lost in the crowd and loses her left arm. Sheldon takes her to safety then goes back to retrieve her arm. Finding it smashed on the floor, he replaces it with his own arm, transplanting it onto Francesca's body.
Later, Sheldon finds Francesca lying in the hallway outside his apartment, her right leg missing. He removes his own leg to replace it; and though Francesca initially protests, he convinces her to take it by telling her he had a dream about her needing a leg and choosing his over all the legs that were offered to her.
Some time after, Francesca fails to pick up Sheldon at the library (as she normally does), leaving him to take the bus. When he gets home, he receives a phone call summoning him to the hospital. He arrives to find Francesca's body broken and lifeless on an operating table, and he saves her life by having the rest of his body surgically transferred to her, with only his head remaining. Francesca is taken out in front of the hospital in a wheelchair, cradling Sheldon's head in her lap. The two smile and look out towards the setting sun as a taxi pulls up to pick them up.
Cast
*
Andrew Garfield
Andrew Russell Garfield (born 20 August 1983) is an English and American actor. After his breakout role in '' Boy A'' (2007), he came to international attention with the supporting role of Eduardo Saverin in the drama ''The Social Network'' ...
as Sheldon
*
Sienna Guillory as Francesca
* Lyle Kanouse as Robot Neighbor
* Nancy Munoz as Lady at Bus Stop
*
Annie Hardy as Annie
*
Daniel London as Jack
*
Michael Berry Jr. as Adam
* Christopher Wonder as Magician
* Richard Penn as Doctor
* Quinn Sullivan as Nurse
References
External links
*
{{Spike Jonze
2010s science fiction romance films
2010 science fiction films
2010 short films
Films about androids
Films directed by Spike Jonze
Films set in Los Angeles
2010s English-language films
American science fiction romance films
American science fiction short films
2010s American films
English-language science fiction films
English-language short films
English-language romance films