Technotise: Edit and I 

Technotise: Edit and I is a Serbian animated film released in 2009, written and directed by Aleksa Gajic. It is a sequel to the graphic novel, Technotise, written by Aleksa Gajic. With a runtime of 1 hour and 40 minutes, the film takes place in the year 2074 in Belgrade. It features our main character, Edit, a college student who resides in a multilayered world of futurism and obsolescence. Humans intermingle with AI-powered robots, stuffed animals that can run errands, and sex-bots are now a thing. It is a film primarily targeted at adults and features mild adult themes and content. Its rating is 16+ for drug use and mild nudity.

Edit Stefanovic is a college student in her early twenties who lives with her grandparents. Her failure to pass her exam is a significant point of connection between her and her grandmother. This is apparent when the “AI” rabbit seeks to obtain money from the grandfather to pay for another exam. Upon finding this out, the Grandmother realizes that Edit has been lying to them regarding her studies.

This results in a comedic verbal rebuke of Edit when she returns home. Her grandmother levies a tapestry of choice words, even going as far as to call her a “Fatherfucking” liar. This discourse breaks up when the more reserved grandfather reminds his wife that her soap opera is about to start. Sidetracked and engrossed, Edit retires to her room.

Edit heads to what could be referred to as the local drug peddler to pass the exam. That is a loose term as he also dabbles in other forms of mind expansion. Placing a chip into her shoulder allows her to retain information exponentially. It also gives her a heightened awareness of sorts, which helps her intern work.

Edit is an intern for TDR, a scientific research and development company. It is believed that her Grandfather got her the position due to his past political ties briefly alluded to in the movie. Utilizing her communication and psychology major abilities, TDR hopes to crack the code of infinite energies. This code which is believed to have been broken by Abel, a genius scientist now autistic, is locked away in his memories, and it is thought that if she can get him to communicate, then the secrets can be discovered.

While lying in a field with Edit, Abel speaks for the first time. With this breakthrough, Edit is taken to the supercomputer that has been attempting to process the calculations of Abel. It is explained that these calculations deal with the interconnectedness of energies, and as the Professor put it, it is a direct line to God.

The problem is they do not know how to make it work. While a state secret, the Professor explains the details. Upon seeing the graph, her enhanced mental state allows her to be unconnected with an entity of higher consciousness. We hear a brief narration from this being before the opening credits.

An enhanced Edit goes through a mental upgrade montage experienced as she takes and fails her exam multiple times, only to pass it and have her professor make it disappear. He does get his comeuppance in the end!!

I am wrapping this up because I don't want to spoil the entire movie. “Edit and I” follows the usual action plot. We have a protagonist with enhanced power, ass-kicking ability, and a sentient being growing inside a human host. At the same time, an antagonist  organization wants the technology for its own uses and “the great good of humanity.” This movie is almost a Serbian version of Aliens with all the trimmings. Where it shines is in the animation.

Edit and I was rendered using drawings, static scenes, 3D and 2D animation. This layered approach allows the viewer to be immersed in the Belgrade of 2074. There is so much going on with different media that for non-native language speakers, the movie is worth watching with the sound down, which brings us to a significant issue with this movie.

There is a tremendous amount of dialogue (subtitles) in this film, which distracts from many of the action sequences to the point that I wished for a dub. I doubt that a dub will be in the works as it falls outside of the broad reach of anime fans.

I happened upon it on accident as it is currently available for viewing to members of Amazon Prime. At an hour and 40 minutes, it is worth a watch. You won't find yourself rooting for the protagonist or her friends as, in my opinion, we are never given a reason. It wraps up with a bit of quick exposition, a letdown, but it works. It’s an entertaining watch for adult fans of animation.