The uncanny valley effect has consistently preoccupied the public imagination in genre film – think Terminator, where something feels slightly off about those robots – and in real-life applications of robotics. Yet today, we’re beginning to move into an era where generative artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming increasingly impossible to distinguish from human intelligence or human-created products – whether it be imagery, videos or text.

Basque director Alberto Gastesi, who showed his debut feature, Stillness in the Storm [+leggi anche:
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Singular features Patricia López Arnaiz – the star of Sundays [+leggi anche:
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It's nothing new to see the AI concept on screen; the title is also a nod to the technological singularity, a hypothetical moment in time where AI surpasses human intelligence and potentially leads to human extinction. Gastesi looks to approach the topic from the perspective of the human inability to deal with mortality and its empathetic effects on our behaviour, rather than creating a story about human domination over robots or, vice versa, an AI revolt against humans. However, AI-centric stories, including Singular, frequently preclude any imagination of peaceful coexistence and lack of conflict, precisely because of the threat posed by the singularity.

The premise of Singular starts off extremely strong, provoking us into having a sense of curiosity around who Andrea really is and leading to a curious twist, supported by directing choices and blocking that aim to gently obscure the boundaries of truth before we gain the full picture. However, after this crucial moment, the screenplay struggles to escalate further in tension, never managing to break the static nature of its intentionally circular story. We are thus stuck in this loop with our characters without learning more about them, causing the second half of the movie to drag through to the end in spite of its efforts to use philosophising to fill the gaps.

Singular is a co-production by Spain’s White Leaf Producciones and Vidania Films, and Finland’s 61 North.