18/11/2024 - Piotr Winiewicz’s debut feature has opened this year’s IDFA by asking questions about image reproduction and humanity via AI

German director Werner Herzog once said in an interview that a computer wouldn’t be able to make a film “as good as mine in 4,500 years” – a bold statement that almost every cinephile would agree with. Herzog was always the permissible kind of old-fashioned when it came to filmmaking and storytelling, his works folding layers of fiction and documentary into a monumental filmography of political urgency and elegant nostalgia. It’s with an example of Herzog’s openness that Piotr Winiewicz begins his debut film, About a Hero [+see also:
trailer
interview: Piotr Winiewicz
film profile], this year’s opening title at IDFA.

“I think artificial intelligence is going to fail. Best of luck,” says Herzog in a voice memo that’s both a blessing and a generous helping of scepticism. With the go-ahead given, Winiewicz joins forces with development studio Makropol to train an AI model – Kaspar, named after the protagonist in The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser – on the works of the German filmmaker, and available texts either written or spoken by him.

Since 2018, the team has been experimenting with algorithmic editing, image analysis and image generation, as well as large language models, to explore the relationship between AI and filmmaking; the result of this endeavour was the AI-generated script of About a Hero. The film itself unfolds as a murder mystery – narrated by Herzog’s (synthesised) deep voiceover – investigating the death of Dorem Clery, a factory worker from the (fictional) town of Getunkirchenburg. Yes, the premise is as fun as it sounds, and the characters that dare to speak of Clery’s mysterious end or the top-secret machine he was working on feel no less eerie. Imme Beccard is unsettling as Clery’s widow, and none other than Vicky Krieps shines in a supporting role as one of the innocuous factory people.

Image-wise, About a Hero looks sleek and polished enough to make you question the origin of its visuals; their obvious reference to Edward Hopper and David Lynch look a tiny bit too cheap to be the real thing. Cinematographer Emil Aagaard’s work is genuine, but in the post-production, some AI-generated images were developed based on what he had already shot in order to create an unnerving mix of human and non-human touch. What really makes About a Hero a stand-out film is not its AI origin, nor its relationship with generative technologies – indeed, it treats the latter with heightened ambivalence – but the questions it poses to its audiences. As spectators in a society that swings between technophobia and technophilia, we’re conditioned to have conflicting views. Moreso, we’re brimming with scepticism, ready to fire it at any suitable target.

With About a Hero, the Copenhagen-based Polish director gives us a canvas to project upon and invites us to partake in a rather unique exercise of shared suspicion. By being transparent about the use of AI, deepfakes and synthesised voices, Winiewicz and his team refuse to trap the audience; instead, they invite us to the dinner table, where AI is the main dish. However, if you ask for seconds, that’s all on you.

About a Hero was produced by Copenhagen-based Tambo Film and Pressman Film (USA), in co-production with Cineteam Hannover of Germany. Film Constellation handles the world sales.