Teknolust (2002)

yuki-onna in red, but paler

maybe its shallow, but i like to find my leading ladies attractive- she, in her obviously wigged 'scientist', ruby and olive personas, looks like a pale emaciated alien guy in drag, so much so I looked for an adam's apple. was it the pale green eyes? no eye shadow? thin eyebrows? what? only 'marinne' (red hair pulled back) seems normal and attractive looking.

i loved the color schemes

the 'semen' tea grossed me out, and boiling condoms in a plastic ziploc bag bothers me on two levels- 1)chemicals in the plastic leeching into the water, and 2) cooking denatures protein, so whatever is in semen they need would be changed by heat. the injection, not so much, except they don't rotate their injection sites! (i am such a geek)the webbing between thumb and index finger might be dramatic, but is i'd think your start developing some scar tissue after awhile.

i like the little car

lets not go into why she(ruby) doesn't know what money is with all the films she watches, or why anyone would know what they heck she's talking about when she asks for "succulent protein", or computer code infecting humans (resulting in impotenence and a barcode on the forehead)...or why the clinic doc whispers...or how all 4 live in the same house yet she communicates with them through a computer screen. wierd movie.

yuki-onna-esque.
the pale japanese snow goddess who drained her victim's life force August 13, 2007

Teknno Lost!

This film's really strange. Tilda Swinton plays four characters; Rosetta/Ruby/Marinne/Olive. One is the creator, the others are clones.

A definciency in the clones means that one must regularly go out and have sex with men in order to harvest their semen, which she collects in a condom. Then she takes this back and makes a tea out of it which they all drink from, as well as they inject themselves with another by-product.

It's too weird June 11, 2007

Colorful, but enigmatic.

This has everything I like about Tilda Swinton's best movies, plus some of what I dislike about her lesser works. Dislikes include low-budget effects and cryptic finales, but maybe that's part of the charm of these movies.

The good, of course, comes from Swinton. She plays a geek girl (Rosetta Stone), but plays the role with respect. She's shy, especially shy around men, and fiercely intelligent. Swinton also plays Stone's three clones: Ruby, Olive, and Marinne. It's a bit ham-handed, but the four roles are distinguished by very different wigs, and the clones by color coding: red, green, and ultramarine. Swinton's real achievement is in her physical presence[s] - the body language of each character is distinctly the character's own. Rosetta is especially good in her my-gawd-i'm-a-mother moments, painfully but realistically unsure, and over cautious as a result.

The plot device is a bit odd: almost vampiric in an AIDS-era kind of way, but with a computer-y angle and a gentle resolution in the end. Rosetta and Ruby each find romantic resolutions of their own. Olive and Marinne seem to find each other - and something more. "As easy as baking brownies." The end is enigmatic, but good enough, and leaves a few questions open.

It's a good indy movie. That means it's not for everyone, but I came away happy.

//wiredweird August 8, 2005

A different world

Rosetta Stone (Tilda Swinton), bio-geneticist creates three artificial sweeties, Ruby/Marinne/Olivia (Tilda Swinton), each with her own color coordinated environment. She uses her own DNA and hopes to have created something better than people. They soon gain their own personalities. By sneaking into the outside world, they eventually teach Rosetta how to live in the real world.

This has the feel of an independent low budget film. There is no correlation to reality; so real techies would barf. But other than that this is an interesting story and lots of color and sound. The science is appalling and amusing. The lust part of "Teknolust" is so mild that you need to look closely. About the time you get used to it the 85 minutes are over.
February 12, 2005

after conceiving ADA

There was Teknolust and if the roll continues someday there will be a big budget sort of "fight club" for the ladies - till then - and oh yeah - it is porn but of a most thinking sort - the disclaimers of other viewers notwithstanding. It is a 5/5 when you understand it was done on a nickel - very little edit or post production - but genius - raw - you bettcha. September 21, 2004

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