Selfie (VI) (2019)

This is a movie that was released online via Amazon as a part of the digital SXSW film festival. Filmmakers were given the option of releasing their films this way given that COVID-19 prevented us from having an actual festival experience. And I have a feeling that the more prominent filmmakers with the higher quality films opted to not have their movies show free online. Because the four narrative feature-length films we got were a bit underwhelming.

"Selfie" is an anthological film with different segments that showcases our obsession with technology. On SXSW's website, they made the comparison to "Black Mirror," which intrigued me because I love "Black Mirror." However, that comparison ended up being more of a distraction because I kept wanting the individual segments to be as good as a "Black Mirror" episode, but they never were. In fact, it felt like more of "Black Mirror" wannabe piece. I think the movie thought it was a lot smarter, more clever, and more socially relevant than it actually was.

In fairness, this isn't bad or boring. It's well acted, well shot, and cleverly spliced together. The stories are engaging and easy to follow. It just ends leaving you feel a tad bit unsatisfied. We've seen these ideas and concepts before, presented in a more effective and impactful way. In "Black Mirror." But also in various other shows and movies. So this is more of a mildly entertaining been-there-done-that sort of thing.