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'Her' (2013)


I had really high expectations with Spike Jonze's latest movie 'Her', a modern love story between Joaquin Phoenix and his operating system, voiced by Scarlett Johansson, and it didn't fucking disappoint.

The movie is set on a futuristic time where everyone is connected but still pretty much disconnected from one another, you see Phoenix's character Theodore completely alone, going to work and back home with nearly no human interaction at all, only bumping into his neighbour and friend Amy (Amy Adams) occasionally on the elevator. And it is a sad story, only when he purchases his operating system Samantha, it's when we see him communicating with someone, smiling, enjoying life. This is a story of a lonely person, someone who has previously find comfort in being alone, who wants to feel something but is pretty much numb ever since his separation from his wife. He'd rather stay still and frozen all emotion than to move along and grant her the divorce. It's a story of someone who wants to be loved and share his life with another person and eventually, he finds that with Samantha. And even though the idea of someone falling in love with his operating system sounds unreal, the tenderness of Joaquin Phoenix's face and the emotion and passion behind the voice of Scarlett Johansson as Samantha really makes it. You just love to see how he opens to her, how he discovers the world to her and the excitement that that brings to both of them. And you, as a viewer, invest your heart on them.
(Spoilers)
Somehow, you know in advance that the movie is going to break your heart, for me, that scene of the IOS failing and Theodore being unable to contact Samantha, rushing to his apartment, leaving all behind, running desperate with the idea of not hearing from her again, of her disappearing as a system error, was never-wracking, truly heartbreaking.  I didn't understand though, when all operating systems leave. It was a beautiful ending with some really touching words from Samantha, how he discovered what was love to her and all her kind words to him, but still, a little confusing and all of a sudden. I guess the idea was that the more they interacted with other people, the more they grew as entities, the more they became an independent whole. Still, the epic final scene with Theodore and Amy on the rooftop is something quite precious.

I really loved this movie, it left me quite devastated after watching it, i didn't cry, but i was really touched about the idea of us in the present time, communicating with everyone and being in contact with anyone but still being all by ourselves in front of a computer. So many feelings but such a beautiful love story.

Below you can listen to the super sweet and cute version that Scarlett Johansson and Joaquin Phoenix do of Karen O's 'The Moon Song'. Everything about this movie is simply gorgeous.



sources: impaawards & youtube

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