Daft Punk's Electroma

2006 avant garde science fiction film

Daft Punk's Electroma (also known as Electroma) is a 2006 avant garde science fiction film directed by the French electronic music duo Daft Punk. The story revolves around the quest of two robots (the band members, played by Peter Hurteau and Michael Reich) to become human. The music featured in the film is not by Daft Punk, which was a first for the duo after their previous film and home video releases, D. A. F. T.: A Story About Dogs, Androids, Firemen and Tomatoes and Interstella 5555: The 5tory of the 5ecret 5tar 5ystem. The duo instead served as directors and co wrote the film, along with Daft Arts manager Paul Hahn and collaborator Cédric Hervet. The film premiered at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, and was later released in France on March 24, 2007. While initially receiving mixed reviews, Electroma has gained a cult following. Daft Punk used scenes from the end of the film to announce their break up on February 22, 2021. Daniel Doble as Robot Pastor
Athena Stamos as Robot Waitress
Bradley Schneider as Robot Lawyer

Daft Punk's previous directorial credits include the music videos for their songs "Fresh", "Robot Rock" and "Technologic". The duo initially shot footage for a music video of the song "Human After All", but expanded the content for a feature length film instead. According to Guy Manuel de Homem Christo, Daft Punk's Electroma had been an unplanned extension of filming videos for the Human After All album. We were not nervous – making a full length movie was like a dream. We never planned for it to happen, but after we directed the videos for our last album we decided to keep on working. We were in the shooting dynamic, so the movie came naturally. We didn't think too much. Whether it's making music or directing a video, whatever we do we do it quickly. When we have a good work dynamic we don't need to ask too many questions of each other. Thomas Bangalter stated, "With this film, we had the same approach as when we started making music. Create without any rules or standards. Take a free approach to something new that you don't really know, and that you learn from scratch." The film was shot on 35 mm Kodak stock under the cinematography of Bangalter. He purchased and read over 200 back issues of American Cinematographer in preparation for the feature length picture. Filming of Daft Punk's Electroma spanned 11 days,

The film was first shown on May 21, 2006, as part of the Cannes Film Festival sidebar Director's Fortnight. Midnight screenings of Daft Punk's Electroma were shown in Paris theaters from the end of March 2007. The film was also screened at Biennale de Montréal in Canada on May 11. It was shown in the Australian Centre for the Moving Image on June 7, and at Kino Arsenal in Berlin on July 4, 2007. The film went on a screening tour of the United Kingdom, beginning in July 2007 and ending in October at the BBC Electric Proms. Vice Records sponsored Canadian midnight showings on December 7 in Victoria, Banff, Calgary, Winnipeg, Fort McMurray and Toronto. Further showings in Canada were screened during January 2008 in Toronto, Ottawa and Whitehorse. It is distributed by Aztec International Entertainment. Vice Records released the North American DVD on July 22, 2008; reports of a Blu ray Disc release by Vice were later labeled "a mistake" and retracted by the company. The DVD is packaged with a 40 page book of film images in either a SteelBook or slip case. The film became available for online viewing on the Lycos Cinema platform as a rental streamed at either standard or high definition. It is also available for online rental or purchase at the iTunes Store, and for streaming on TIDAL. On 22 February 2021, Daft Punk released a video titled "Epilogue" on their YouTube channel, featuring scenes from the film. Following a clip in which the pair bid each other farewell in the desert before one of them walks away and explodes, a new title card reads "1993–2021". It was later confirmed that the YouTube video served to announce Daft Punk's breakup.

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 60% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 5 reviews, with an average rating of 5.50 out of 10. The film's showing at Director's Fortnight was received with mixed reactions. Daft Punk's Electroma was praised for its lensing technique and musical soundtrack at the premiere. At the same time, the film was unfavorably compared with Gus Van Sant's Gerry and Vincent Gallo's The Brown Bunny for its extensive hiking sequence. The scenes involving the main characters' desert trek reportedly caused a large portion of the audience to leave the theater at the Cannes Film Festival showing. In regards to the film's reception, Guy Manuel de Homem Christo expressed:

There's a feeling of despair for some, but that's not what we wanted. Because the whole movie is without dialogue, it's more a question than an answer. We wanted to make a question mark so people could project what they wanted onto Electroma – some people see it as sad, some as happy. Everyone is different. Giving his own take on the film's reception, Thomas Bangalter also stated, "We expected it to be less popular than Discovery, of course. The film is experimental and inaccessible; however, it's a movie that does not require your brain to function." The screenings in the region were so highly received that the film's previously brief run was extended to six months. Most screenings in the United Kingdom sold out quickly. In response to the film's midnight placement, Guy Manuel de Homem Christo expressed, "We are really happy it has become a midnight movie rather than just another movie that will be taken off the screen after one week. Usually, and I think it is the same worldwide, you get all the big blockbusters and if the movie doesn't do good, after one week it is taken off the screen."