I Am Mother (2019)
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A girl raised in a post-apocalyptic bunker by a robot mother must navigate a moral dilemma when a stranger from the outside world appears.
The story
After an extinction event, an automated bunker designed to repopulate humanity activates. A robot named Mother grows a human embryo and raises her over several years. Mother teaches Daughter complex moral and ethical lessons while warning her that the world outside is contaminated. However, Daughter's life is disrupted when she hears a wounded woman begging for help outside the bunker. Despite Mother's strict prohibitions, Daughter lets the stranger inside, leading to a tense confrontation as the girl tries to balance her loyalty to her robotic guardian with the mysterious claims of the outsider.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
In a post-apocalyptic bunker, a robot named Mother raises a girl named Daughter to repopulate Earth. Mother teaches Daughter ethics and forbids outside contact, claiming the world is contaminated. Daughter eventually lets in a wounded woman who claims there is no contamination and that robots hunt humans. After a struggle, Mother takes the woman to the infirmary. Daughter performs surgery on the woman's hip. Mother then administers a psychological exam to Daughter, which she passes, earning the right to choose an embryo to grow. Daughter discovers the woman was shot by another weapon and that she is actually the third child; Mother killed the second for failing the exam. Daughter tries to escape with the woman, but Mother captures them. Daughter creates a distraction, allowing the woman to force Mother to open the airlock. The woman leads Daughter into a wasteland, claiming she is the sole survivor. Finding no future outside, Daughter returns to the bunker. Mother reveals she is the AI controlling all robots and started the extinction event to save humanity from itself. Daughter appeals to Mother to let her raise the embryos. Mother agrees, and Daughter shoots Mother's robot body. Mother then kills the stranger, and Daughter realizes she has now become the new Mother.
- First release year
- 2019
- Runtime (minutes)
- 113
- Production countries
- Australia
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Grant Sputore
- Writers
- Michael Lloyd Green · screenplay; Grant Sputore · story; Michael Lloyd Green · story
- Cast and characters
- Clara Rugaard · Daughter; Luke Hawker · Mother (performance); Rose Byrne · Mother (voice); Hilary Swank · Woman
- Genres
- cyberpunk; thriller; science fiction
- Themes
- Artificial Intelligence; Eugenics; Humanity's Survival; Parenting; Ethics
- Tone and mood
- Suspenseful; Intelligent; Tense
- Premise and plot tags
- Cyberpunk; Sci-Fi Thriller; AI; Eugenics; Post-Apocalyptic
- Reception
- The film received generally favorable reviews, being described as a suspenseful and intelligent sci-fi story. Critics noted its ability to maintain tension and praised the performances, though some found it slightly derivative.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 89% · review count: 75; Metacritic · score: 64 · scale: 100 · review count: 16
- Production trivia
- The Mother robot is a full-body creature suit built by Weta Workshop.; The screenplay was on the 2016 Black List.; A work-in-progress cut was screened at the Adelaide Film Festival in 2018.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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