Bigbug Review: Finding Humanity in Robots

The story of humans versus androids seems almost cliché at this point, a fear that only continues to grow as technological capabilities increase and the concept of robots in the home slowly becomes less novel and foreign to everyday consumers. It is predicted that the market for virtual assistants will grow from $2.2 billion in 2018 to $11.3 billion in 2024. Technology has become a crutch for humanity. Human reliance on technology has heavily increased during the past decade. This is creating a system where if the technology was taken away, humans would not be capable of living efficiently.

Steven Soderbergh’s recent release Kimi touches upon the potential impacts of one’s invaded privacy through technology and corporate greed, but Jean-Pierre Jeunet, the mastermind behind the renowned Amélie, has followed up with his take on a futuristic world where machines want to be understood. Netflix’s release of Bigbug is the movie that resulted from this concept. It subverts expectations from movies with similar storylines and concepts, creating a unique visual experience that is also thought-provoking.

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A World of Androids and Humans

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In the world of Bigbug, the year is 2045, and most humans have delegated their everyday tasks over to androids. These androids can speak, detect emotion with a single look, determine a human’s intention, and have enhanced speed and power. French suburbia now boasts an assortment of pastel-colored cookie-cutter homes, perfectly manicured lawns, greenhouses inside living rooms, and televisions that appear like holograms. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? But all good things are only fleeting when a traffic jam marks the start of an android revolution.

A group of androids, who have dubbed themselves the Yonyx (all portrayed by François Levental), were previously introduced through a television show playing in the background of the group’s chatter. The opening scene of Bigbug truly sets the stage for what is to come: the television show shows androids keeping humans as literal pets. The humans walk like dogs, wear tails, and bark and snarl at each other on the street. Almost immediately, a power dynamic has been set about ownership and dominance, and this is the overarching goal of the Yonyx.

They seek to gain back control from the humans who owned them previously, and one of the Yonyx even proves capable of getting the right momentum to become a politician. These Yonyx appear to be untrustworthy. They have large and unnatural smiles, headgear that wraps around the sides of their heads, and a penchant for torturing humans. They emerge as an outside threat to the bubble that the humans are living inside. This concept stretches further with the development that the main cast of characters is locked inside a home by their androids as the Yonyx create chaos.

Related: Kimi Review: Technology and the Invasion of Privacy

An Unlikely Group of People Are Brought Together

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Bigbug’s human cast of characters is all people that moviegoers have seen before. Alice (Elsa Zylberstein) is the divorced housewife whose home the movie largely inhabits. Max (Stéphane de Groodt) and his son (Hélie Thonnat) are the first visitors to Alice’s humble abode, and Max is a man on a mission. He wants Alice and will not stop pursuing her. When her ex-husband (Youssef Hadji) shows up with his new girlfriend (Claire Chust), tension flares as her jealousy slowly begins to blossom with each passing remark. Françoise (Isabelle Nanty), a neighbor with multiple clones of her beloved dog, shows up and makes herself comfortable before chaos ensues. Finally, Alice’s teenage daughter, Nina (Marysole Fertard), returns.

Each of the characters uniquely stands out, inducing multiple personality clashes. As the robots try to uncover what it means to have human emotions by studying their owners and reading books, they discover firsthand the trapped humans’ cycle through core emotions. Lust is a prominent theme throughout the movie, as plenty of moments are foiled by the androids coming in to crack a joke when the moment seems just right. Outdoor advertisements, which come straight up to the window and interact with the humans, bring both endless fascination and annoyance.

But indoors, Alice’s home reminds the viewer of the familiar objects in this advanced world: rows of bookcases filled with old books, calligraphy done with a real fountain pen, and a Smeg refrigerator. Even Alice herself offers a vague sense of nostalgia in the way she dresses: her attire is reminiscent of the 1950s or sixties housewife, especially when juxtaposed against her android maid Monique.

Monique’s attire is everything expected from a futuristic robot. Her blue-streaked blunt bob defines her as something not human, as well as her silver maid costume that vaguely resembles the standard attire for a science fiction movie. She is immediately distinguished as something inhumane through her appearance.

Robots Just Want to Be Human

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The other robots in the home are Einstein, a talking head that was made by Alice’s ex-husband, Tom, a robot that is deemed backward and old-fashioned, and Nestor, the artificial intelligence behind the home. As the Yonyx begin their revolt, these androids remember the kindness that Alice gave to them, even if she never actually saw them as anything more than household appliances. It is this driving emotion for the robots that allows them the chance to break free and choose their destiny as the Yonyx threat comes closer.

An underlying theme of the movie is the rejection of all things that make humans human. Alice and her daughter Nina are tethered to a world that previously existed due to their attachment to books and computers, even though they might not have many memories of what the world used to be like. A simple meal cooks through a series of machinery, and a table cannot be moved without the help of artificial intelligence.

For characters like Françoise, even intimacy is with a robot. Perhaps this is the core of the movie: as the Yonyx reject anything humanist and human-like, the actual mortals occupying this earth, too, have truly forgotten what it means to be human. But the movie waits for the moment when emergency lights are blaring, and the Yonyx shows up to inflict terror on the clueless occupants and robots. There is no distinction between humans and robots with their enforced punishment.

It is a normalization of these events, however, that makes Bigbug a compelling movie outside the main storyline. The year is 2045, and hints of the contemporary world we now live in are evident: the books and Macbook computers. A television show, where the entire plot is an android tortures humans, come on, and there is an evident lack of concern from those in the house. It is as if this is a normal occurrence, that they are desensitized to such events occurring.

Even Alice and Nina, who feel this romanticized nostalgia through cultural artifacts from a distant past, would probably prove incapable of surviving in a world without their robotic assistants. What makes this theme most evident throughout the film is the introduction of the robots trying to learn how to become human. By the end of the movie, they stand tall, smiling, and proudly say, “We are human.”

This suggests that humanism is acquired through the study of emotion and empathy, which is the exact opposite observed by humans at the beginning of the movie. Where did humans lose their way in Bigbug? Besides that, there are smaller threads about capitalism, technology improvements, and community.

Related: These Are the Best Netflix Originals From 2021, in Case You Need to Catch Up

A Quirky Take on the Future

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Bigbug injects humorous moments here and there, adding offbeat commentary that enables the movie to be more of a satire than a doomsday scenario. In one scene, Alice’s teenage daughter plays rock, paper, scissors with one of the robots inside her room. The other teenager, the son of the man romantically pursuing Alice, enters and comments on how she has ancient computer systems. These computer systems are from the early 2000s.

It took Jeunet four years to find a home for his script until Netflix picked it up, allowing the movie a platform on the streaming giant. His film defies all expectations. He creates a quirky, amusing movie offering colorful visuals to captivate and further its story. While its characters run around trying to have sex with each other and fight about how they need to get out of the house, there is a deeper complexity to all of this. However, the humans are the most grueling part of the movie.

While it may come off as a strange, artsy movie, its weakness lies in the lack of character development. The only ones who mark a shift in their emotional journeys are the robots themselves. Perhaps that is the film’s point, complete with commentary about being quarantined inside their home as the world outside slowly begins to fall apart.

About The Author

Ashley Hajimirsadeghi
(50 Articles Published)

Writer, author, and aspiring critic. Find me @ashleynassarine.

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