I was made for you - what is perfect love?

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

The romantic comedy "I was made for you" (2021) tells the story of a woman who takes part in an experiment. Although love is the last thing she needs right now, she gets into a relationship with a robot man who is difficult to distinguish from an ordinary person. Read everything about the plot of the film, comments by director Maria Schrader about the actors, filming and working on the picture.

Director Maria Schrader

Somehow I heard rumors about the existence of a story that was adapted into a screenplay. Rumors were limited to the topic of "a woman meets a robot," but that was enough to spark my keen interest. This uncomplicated theme was just a stone's throw away from the famous "boy meets girl" that Billy Wilder made the cinematic trend, but these were two essential steps: "girl meets boy" and "girl meets robot boy."

This was the beginning of the effective cooperation of our quintet: producer Lisa Blumenberg, editors Jan Berning and Katharina Dafner, screenwriter Jan Schomburg and director Maria Schrader, which continued until the completion of the film.

The dream of perfect artificial intelligence is probably as old as humanity itself. In antiquity, it was an almost magical creation that required the participation of the gods. Prometheus sculpted people from clay and water.

Pygmalion fashioned a female statue, fell in love with her and asked Aphrodite to breathe life into the object of his adoration. As human conceit increased, people increasingly tried to exercise the divine right to create life in image and likeness. From the first mechanical automatons to groundbreaking advances in the study of artificial intelligence, every step moves us away from the divine essence. If it ever comes to the point that robots can become our beloved, the question of "spirituality of machines", like the question of soul and mind, will become even more pressing than ever. Often, the genre of stories about humanoid machines with artificial intelligence balances on the brink of fiction and horror.

Man tries to play God and creates his own servants, but is afraid of losing control over them and being surpassed by his creations. From the creation of medieval golems to the construction of the high-tech robot from Out of the Machine, many of these stories end in destruction and death. Tom is more advanced than any of his predecessors. He surpasses man in almost everything. He is free from ambition, he knows neither fear nor the desire for freedom, he does not carry any threat.

Tom would probably be the perfect servant. He is erudite and completely agrees with the fact that he was created for a very specific purpose. It may seem to someone that his task is the most wonderful one can think of: to make a person happy. It is created as the ideal partner for a human being, equipped with unique features and skills. Its task is to combat the feeling of loneliness, to satisfy the human need for trust and love. And most importantly, all this can be bought, which Alma cannot accept in any way.

Robots must keep track of flight plans and regulate traffic, mow lawns and monitor safety. And love, feelings, happiness and suffering are, according to Alma, inherent only in humans. Alma defends the principles of romance, independence and the so-called freedom of expression. She sees in Tom only a machine to satisfy her needs.

From her point of view, he cannot be a real life companion, only remotely resemble him. Alma explores the paradox of human desires.

Is there any hidden meaning in the unattainability of what you want? Are there any prerequisites for the emergence of desires, especially when it comes to love? Many people say that they dream of meeting the "ideal lover", but what exactly is hidden behind this very vague concept? Is this a person who analyzes all your needs and aspirations so thoroughly that he can accomplish what you want even before you formulate and articulate it?

And how will it feel for you if you find out that this is not a manifestation of love, but ordinary mathematical programming? In spite of everything, Alma falls in love with Tom, finding herself in the grip of an insoluble dilemma. Her desires run counter to her beliefs. Feelings and emotions find themselves in the shackles of contradictions. It seems to her that, even if not for long, she was truly happy. But the thought of how “love” differs from a complex algorithm haunts her. Are we changing ourselves to match our partner in a traditional relationship?

What is real in the relationship, and what is learned, adjusted and programmed? In the report that Alma presents to the management, she strongly opposes the release of robots like Tom on the market, and it's not even that her beliefs won out over her feelings. She is probably very afraid that Tom and similar robots may be more evolved creatures than their creators. The threat may not come from uncontrolled violence and aggression. Robots can show greater altruism, be more civilized and peaceful than we humans. These are higher beings who, sooner or later, may consider humanity a factor inhibiting progress.

Maria Schrader on working on the film

About the script

Jan Schomburg and I worked together for the second time after the film “Stefan Zweig. For the script for "I'm Made for You," we aimed to find a light, playful tone that could distract viewers from the complex themes of the film. At first, we planned that events would take place in the distant future, but changed our minds.

In our world, a lot is built on algorithms, and high-tech robots have long ceased to be science fiction. Although we can only dream about the form in which the robot appears in our picture. In a word, the action of the film "I was made for you" takes place in modern Berlin.

Alma is quite a modern woman. The only hint for the future is Terrareca, which employs futuristic employees to create amazing things. Volume is one of the prototypes of the novelty. We tried to help viewers feel sympathy for Alma. She has no advantage over the audience, she knows no more about the future than you and me. Tom seems to her as unusual as it would seem to any of us. It also gave us some space to create comic situations.

About casting

Maren Eggert looks very organic in the frame. She is able to change the mood, which was very useful for demonstrating the character of Alma. It was thanks to the talent that Maren Alma could convincingly be abstruse and helpless, funny and straightforward, hot-tempered and disciplined, caring and insightful. Alma is a complex, loving and beautiful woman, not without her flaws. Like Maren Eggert, Dan Stevens was sent to us by God. We have been looking abroad for a long time for an actor who would be tolerable in German and able to cope with the complex lines of Tom, who is as accurate as any machine.

At the same time, the actor had to be beautiful, but devoid of narcissism. In a word, the actor had to play his role so that the audience did not forget that Tom was a robot, and still showed sympathy for him.

I can't imagine who could cope with this role better than Dan. About mise-en-scènes Cinematographer Benedict Neuenfels, production designer Cora Pratz and costume designer Anette Güter were looking for a mise-en-scène that would seem out of time and space. This was especially true of the costumes and the interior of Alma's apartment. With the speed of the dialogues and the enthusiasm of the actors, which manifested itself already during the first rehearsals, our project reminded me of films with Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart and Cary Grant. We wanted a fantastically beautiful view from Alma's apartment that could be called urban romanticism. At the same time, the interior in the apartment had to be chaotic and not too chic. The apartment building opposite the Catholic cathedral turned out to be the perfect choice, and our decorators should be given credit for the fact that the interior of the apartment was accurately recreated in the studio. Ultimately, we achieved the solution of many creative problems by changing the color, light, shooting angle, scenery, costumes and make-up.

About editing and music

This is my fourth experience working with editor Hansjörg Weissbrich, who has arranged the scenes in such a way as to emphasize the interaction of the actors and the rhythm of the film. With the help of music, we also tried to unobtrusively convey a certain atmosphere, to give the film our own unique sound. Composer Tobias Wagner did an excellent job with this task.