I Am Mother is the first feature film from newly minted director Grant Spewtor, starring Hilary Sounk and Clara Rugor, released in 2019. The genre of the film is science fiction, thriller. It is noteworthy that, despite the meager number of characters and the monotony of the place where the events unfold, the creators manage to keep the viewer in tension for the entire two hours. The intrigue persists until the very end and … as a result, they have a lot of questions about the main idea, the meaning of the picture and its ambiguous ending.

Plot. Mother and daughter

Let’s try to figure out what meaning the authors of the picture wanted to invest in their work. At the very beginning, we understand that humanity has been destroyed and only robots remain in the world, which, probably, were the reason for the disappearance of man. The main robot is “Mother”. Its main task is to revive and educate humanity anew. In a specially equipped bunker there are 68 thousand human embryos, which will be the basis of a new population. We are clearly given to understand that artificial intelligence has already won and is trying to equip the world in a new, desirable way for itself.

The main robot creates the only creation that seems to her the most perfect – the Daughter. Other children of the Mother had to be killed for decades, because they do not fit certain parameters: they are not smart enough, quick-witted, strong … For what reason people were destroyed is not clear, but the phrase of the still little Daughter that “people always spoil everything” can be partially perceived as an answer to this question.

Through the screen, you can feel the atmosphere of alienation of a girl who has been growing up locked up all her life and brought up by a piece of iron. The Mother is responsible for the upbringing of the Daughter and approaches this responsibly. What is the point of destroying humanity and planning to create a new one? Obviously, the robots, who know how to set humanity on the right path, are planning to create completely new, pure, perfect representatives. Unnecessary, born not according to the format have to be killed. Mother represents the engine of evolution, taking into account the previous mistakes of the human race. To do this, she regularly teaches the Daughter, conducts lectures, exams, in order to assess how perfect the fruit of her efforts is. The daughter acts as a guinea pig without knowing it.

It is interesting to observe the relationship between the girl and the robot. The robot cannot experience feelings, but is programmed to kiss her daughter on the forehead, to say that she loves her, to behave like a real mother. Of course, this is not enough for the Daughter, she sees people only on TV, and the desire to meet them live increases with every second.

Suddenly, a woman (the only one who survived outside the bunker) breaks into the girl’s life, claiming that the robots are responsible for the end of the world. This connection between a girl and a woman is intended to reflect that the friendly existence of a man and a robot is utopian if the robot begins to dominate. Why, then, is the Mother so kind to the Daughter? The daughter turns out to be a smart creation of a robot. To such an extent that the Mother instructs her to perform the operation on the wounded woman herself and in the end allows her to raise her newborn brother and develop the embryos without her participation. Should such a move be perceived as the defeat of artificial intelligence in an attempt to dominate people? It is unlikely, because the purpose of the robots was to create a new humanity, free from the vices characteristic of the previous one. And the Daughter is proof that this is possible. She is not only smart, resourceful and brave, but also kind, empathetic, always ready to help. A unique combination of qualities for a person.

The meaning of the film and its ending

The main message of the film is this: the dominance of artificial intelligence is the probable nearest reality and humanity is approaching the moment when robots will control the human mind every day. The shortcomings of homo sapiens, his neglect, cruelty, hatred of his own kind indicate that the invasion of robots is the best outcome for the future of the planet. The only problem is that iron does not know how to experience feelings, such manifestations as joy, sadness, love, empathy are alien to it. This is what distinguishes man from other creatures and makes him believe that not all is lost. In the film, this is reflected in the following moment: The daughter, in whom the best qualities of a person are collected, will educate her brothers herself and will be able to revive a world where anger, meanness, lies are extremely rare vices.