Today’s quick review: Technotise: Edit & I. Edit Stefanovic (Sanda Knezevic), a psychology student living in Belgrade in the year 2074, gets more than she bargained for when she implants herself with a memory-enhancing chip to cheat on an exam. Exposure to a mathematical formula causes the chip to grow inside her, altering her body and her mind. Now Edit must rely on the help of a stranger (Nebojsa Glogovac) to figure out what’s happening to her.
Technotise: Edit & I is a Serbian animated sci-fi movie based on the graphic novel by Aleksa Gajic. The movie follows a young woman who gets caught up in a scientific advancement beyond her understanding. Technotise is set in a quirky future where technology has advanced but human nature is still the same. Distinctive art, interesting speculation, and a character-driven story make Technotise a hidden gem for the right viewer.
The glue that holds Technotise together is its characters. Edit and her friends are young, reckless underachievers who spend most of their time just hanging out. Their casual banter and modest ambitions are a perfect counterbalance to the far-flung setting and the uncertain trajectory of the plot. Instead of just being a film about Edit’s technological transformation, Technotise is a film about ordinary people reacting to the unknown.
Technotise also features a distinctive art style that blends a variety of styles and techniques into one coherent world. The animation shows some clear limitations in terms of the way people and objects can move, but the film does a skillful job of working within these limitations. The animation can be incredibly fluid when it needs to be, and the art and world feel like a fully realized vision.
The only real drawbacks to Technotise are choices it makes deliberately. The story is an abstract mystery about the changes Edit is undergoing. It has enough explanation to feel worthwhile, but its meandering structure and dreamlike imagery won’t suit everyone. The characters and setting have a rough quality to them that takes some getting used to. Finally, the tone strikes an odd balance between mystery, wonder, and comedy.
Technotise: Edit & I is a fresh, creative film that blends classic cyberpunk ideas with a unique and colorful world. Not every gamble it takes pays off, but enough of them do to make it a fascinating pick for anyone interested. Fans of abstract sci-fi, unconventional animation, and stories with an emphasis on character should give it a shot. Steer clear if you’re sensitive to mature content or prefer tighter, plot-driven stories.
For a darker animated sci-fi movie about an extraordinary transformation, try Akira. For a more paranoid story in a similar vein, try A Scanner Darkly. For an even more fanciful animated sci-fi movie with gorgeous visuals and an abstract story, try Paprika. For a live-action sci-fi movie about a woman undergoing an even more extreme transformation, try Lucy. For noir-influenced animated sci-fi with some of the same feel, try Renaissance.
7.5 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 7.0 for creative ideas that will click with the right viewer.