After working as a volunteer staff member for TOKYO FILMeX for more than 12 years, Yuriko Yamamoto finally takes the stage with her debut short film “Keiko-san and I”. The story is about a humanoid AI named Keiko, who serves the Koyama family during times of infectious diseases. Her duties are mainly parenting, housekeeping, and educating but after 16 years she starts making errors. Mother Riko (Hono Miyabe) wants to replace her with an updated model, but her daughter Airi (Minami Urushibata) refuses.
Keiko-san and I is screening at Skip City International D-Cinema Festival
Director Yuriko Yamamoto opens up the provocative question about identity by portraying a robot-human relationship. In a world that is defined by social distancing, the only “real” contact is possible with a non-human being. Where to draw the line between these two? Will the updated Keiko still be the same character? Although her body will change, she will keep the memory of the previous model. In less than 30 minutes, the movie tries to emphasize the problematic situation of parting but holds back on the big emotions.
In accordance with the scenario, the stylistic approach does not build up any connection between the audience and the protagonists. There are no fast cuts and only minimal VFX. A slow pacing and a static cinematography create a very cold atmosphere and in doing so, the short distances itself from the audience. Also, the setting is limited almost entirely inside the house, which makes the whole narrative very dependent on dialogue. Here, the performance of Aika Kamimura as the robot comes into full effect. Her facial expressions and acting skills fit the image of an android. Not too stiff but at the same time not too human. This talent can be seen especially in those scenes where she does the little glitches on her face.
The conflict between mother and daughter is channeled through the passionless presence of Keiko. As a being with no emotions, she is still able to trigger other people's feelings. The film misses the chance to fully embrace that aspect and only sprinkles some rare moments of Keiko's imperfection, which appear like little breakaways from the conservatively directed plot. Otherwise, “Keiko-san and I” progresses in a pretty predictable way, which makes it difficult to judge on. Neither a tearjerker nor a heartless sci-fi drama, the short stays in one's memory as a realistic and contemporary document about a not- so-unlikely setting.
Director Yuriko Yamamoto, who is an Alumnus of the New Cinema Workshop and contributed to the script for the Japan-China-Korea co-production “Sora” in 2019, shows the ability to combine fiction and reality within the limits of the short movie segment. This will be a good base for courageous projects in the future (about the future?). Whatever genre Yamamoto may choose, it will be interesting to see.
