Autómata (2014)
Released: 18 Nov 2014
Summary:
In 2044, solar flares have made the Earth's surface radioactive and decimated the Earth's human population. The survivors have built robots, called Pilgrims, to help them rebuild in harsh environments. These robots have two inalterable protocols: they must preserve human life, and they may not modify themselves. Originally seen as mankind's salvation, the robots were venerated. However, when they failed to stop the advance of desertification, they were relegated to manual labor and domestic servitude.
Jacq is an insurance claim checker for ROC, the company that makes the robots. One day he investigates a report from Wallace, a cop who shot a robot he claims was modifying itself and that "looked alive". Jacq discovers that the robot had hidden some stolen electronic components, including a rare miniaturized nuclear battery that could power a robot indefinitely, making it independent from the power grid.
The next day, Jacq follows a robot that was stealing parts. When he finds it hiding outside the city walls, it sets itself on fire in an attempt to destroy itself. Jacq salvages the burned robot and takes it back to the city, where it is examined in a lab. Jacq speculates to his friend and boss Robert that there may be a clocksmith—someone who illegally modifies robots—who somehow succeeded in altering the second protocol. Jacq makes a deal with Robert: If Jacq can find the person responsible for altering the robot protocol, Robert will transfer him to a city on the coast, as Jacq fears the city is too dangerous for his wife and unborn daughter. Jacq's dreams reveal that he has childhood memories of the ocean before it dried up.
Jacq shares his plan with Wallace, who takes him to a woman in the ghetto who owns a prostitute robot, named Cleo, that is capable of causing pain for the purpose of pleasure. When the robot's owner refuses to reveal the clocksmith's name to Jacq and Wallace, Wallace shoots and damages Cleo. When Jacq objects, Wallace tells him they can wait for Cleo's owner to take Cleo to the clocksmith for repair and follow her to him.
Jacq follows Cleo's owner to a clocksmith named Dr. Dupre, but Dupre claims she doesn't know who altered Cleo's protocol—something that is supposed to be impossible to do without destroying the robot's bio-kernel (core). Jacq gives Dupre the module containing the burned robot's kernel from the burned robot, and tells her he will give her the nuclear battery if she finds the information he is looking for. The next day, Dupre calls Jacq to inform him that she installed into Cleo a hybrid between the ruined kernel and a standard kernel; and that as a result, Cleo had started to repair itself. Jacq messages Robert about it, but the ROC intercepts the message and sends a team of men and child soldiers. Dupre is killed, but Jacq is able to flee the doctor's workshop and jump into a car Cleo is using to escape. They drive out of the city but are followed by two ROC henchmen. During the chase, they run into an area fortified with dragon's teeth; the henchmen crash and their vehicle bursts into flames, while Jacq's and Cleo's car flips.
Jacq wakes up the next morning in the radioactive desert with Cleo and three unknown robots. They don't obey his command to take him to the city, but the first protocol makes them carry him with them and save him from hunger and dehydration. Jacq manages to secretly send a text message with his rough location to Robert. Knowing of the danger Jacq is in, Robert asks Wallace to recover Jacq in exchange for wiping Wallace's record clean, as he knew that Wallace was being investigated for the use of drugs while on duty. Robert didn't know that Wallace intended to extort Jacq for half the value of the nuclear battery, and when Wallace finds Jacq, a physical confrontation ensues. The robots, unable to harm Wallace or permit harming Jacq, freeze in confusion as Wallace threatens Jacq with a gun. Two robots consecutively step in front of the gun to prevent it from killing Jacq, and both are destroyed. When Cleo steps in front of the gun, Jacq fires a flare gun into Wallace's stomach, killing him and causing his partner to flee with their vehicle. Informed of the failure, the ROC orders another team out to kill Jacq.
At a cable car station on the edge of a canyon, Jacq meets the robot which altered the others and was the first of its kind. After a philosophical talk with him in which Jacq expresses uncertainty in his memories of the ocean and of his own survival, Jacq surrenders the nuclear battery the robots need. They use it to build an insect-like robot that moves with the intelligent grace of a living being. The ROC forces Robert to track Jacq with their henchmen. Unable to find him, they kidnap Jacq's wife and newborn daughter. Robert, disagreeing with the intent to use Jacq's wife and daughter as hostages, reveals a gun he had taken from Wallace's corpse, and in the ensuing firefight, he is wounded and left for dead.
In the morning, the robots repair a truck for Jacq so he can return to the city. En route, Jacq discovers the dying Robert and learns his family is in danger, and decides to go back. Meanwhile, the henchmen arrive at the station. They destroy two robots and damage Cleo. When Jacq reaches the station, he crashes the truck into a pile of barrels, killing two of the henchmen. He shoots one of the henchmen, but is cornered by the remaining one. Just as the henchman is about to shoot Jacq, the insect-like robot jumps him and pushes him off the ledge and falls to his death. Jacq reunites with his family and Cleo thanks him. Jacq, severely wounded in the gunfight, recalls his memories of the ocean as his wife drives him and their baby to the coast for his dying wish.
Cast:
Antonio Banderas as Jacq Vaucan
Birgitte Hjort Sørensen as Rachel
Melanie Griffith as Dr. Dupre
Dylan McDermott as Wallace
Robert Forster as Robert Bold
Tim McInnerny as Vernon Conway
Andy Nyman as Ellis
David Ryall as Dominic Hawk
Andrew Tiernan as Manager
Christa Campbell as Tech
Bashar Rahal as Doctor
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