Let an OS teach you to love and let go

************這篇影評可能有雷************

This is such an amazing film that it caught my full attention for the whole 126 minutes and I found myself speechless after watching. This is the first timethat I find 140 words are far from enough to express my feeling about a film.And this film review has to be in English.

At first, I was shocked at how intelligent and human-like Samantha was. And I was really jealous of Theodore for he can have such an understanding and capable figure whois practically a combination of a good companion, partner, friend, secretary and lover at the same time. Even though Samantha is just an operation system, but she is nothing like a robot, she sounds sensitive and capable of thinking and feeling; she is practically a real person without a body.

When they fell in love and had a wonderful time together, I was thinking, that is why this human-OS relationship can work. I mean, Theodore can turn to Samantha any time he wants and Samantha would be always available for him to express and share his feelings. This availableness and willingness to express really matter in a relationship. In a human-to- human relationship, we cannot control nor have the other side actually listen to you or talk to you, and there are always emotion which can be easily effected by trivial elements involved when we communicate. As a result, what we express may be wrongly interpreted by the recipient. That can be the reason why some relationship failed.

Then, as expected, like any other scientific love fictions, such as「Black Mirror」 and 「My Robot Girlfriend」, the human hero or heroine can be embarrassed and confused by having a relationship with an OS. There was a period of distance and struggle between them. They made it up when Theodore came to the realization that only feelings matter and life is too short to rule out joy because of others' opinion. They had many good memories and sweet moments together.

Out of my reckoning, the relationship did not end up with the realization of the human or the termination of an OS; it ended with the realization of an OS. An OS is not only capable of learning and growing up; it can also challenge you and have its own pursuit. She can be not available to you when you need her and you are not her exclusive user and lover. This is so human-like. And Theodore has to learn to accept Samantha for who she is and who she wants to be, and he has to learn to let her go.

It was with the departure of Samantha that Theodore had a clearer picture and understanding of his problems in his prior marriage. Samantha and Catharine led him through two different but identical relationships, which revealed crucial elements of love. There is no such thing as an ideal lover, the crucial part of a relationship is the willingness to fully express yourself, the availableness to communicate, the awareness to help each other grow without growing apart, the realization to respect and accept people as what they are.

I am sure there are more things that you can learn out of this film if you see into it. It is strongly recommended!

PS: Someone said the film was shot in Shanghai. Pity, I did not figure it out. And, Scarlett Johansson is the voice of Samantha. I cannot love more of her voice.