Open Air | Her
Melancholic and mesmerizing film by Spike Jonze (Being John Malkovich) about an unusual love story in the age of artificial intelligence starring Joaquin Phoenix and Scarlett Johansson.
Set in the Los Angeles of the slight future, Her follows Theodore Twombly, a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with Samantha, a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive entity in its own right, individual to each user. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to ‘meet’ Samantha, a bright, female voice, who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other.
We all talk to our computers, TVs or smartphones every now and then. So perhaps a relationship between humans and devices isn't such a far-fetched idea after all. What do love and intimacy mean in the digital age? Spike Jonze answers this question in his own unique way. The result is a film that is as alienating as it is endearing.
Pre-show: In Our Real Life (Embers) + talk with Jason Hendrik Hansma
Jason Hendrik Hansma, 2021–2024, 9 min
In Our Real Life is an archival project that brings together amateur video footage of embers from bushfires around the world, sourced from various online platforms. Over the course of three years, these clips were carefully collected to create something akin to a ‘character study’ of the flickering movement of embers — or ‘points’ of fire — reflecting on themes of departure and migration.