Jiminy
2013 · 20m · France
Directed by Arthur Môlard
Genres: drama, sci-fi, thriller
Tones: contemplative, dark, provocative
In the near future, most people have a 'cricket' chip implanted in their brains that lets them switch into autopilot mode for everyday tasks. Nathanaël, a cricket repairman, faces a moral dilemma when the parents of an autistic boy ask him to tamper with their son's chip.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Môlard does the unthinkable: takes the tired 'AI-implant' premise and pivots it into a genuinely unsettling interrogation of parental control and neurodiversity—the kind of move that makes you realize you've been watching the wrong sci-fi movie the whole time.
A measured exploration of bioethics wrapped in formally controlled sci-fi restraint, where each scene's deliberate pacing and the careful visual language of the implant world situate *Jiminy* in the lineage of speculative cinema that trusts ambiguity over resolution.
The film's entire moral weight hinges on a single choice: letting the camera linger on the boy's face during the chip sequence rather than cutting away, which transforms a concept premise into something visceral and specific about consent.
Reviews
La force du film de Arthur Môlard est de réussir à nous expliquer simplement et à nous convaincre franchement de l'intérêt de son astuce grâce à un grand dépouillement utilisé comme un atout... Outre la beauté de sa photo et de sa musique, le film réussit à exposer son univers singulier et sourdement violent avec suffisamment de légèreté pour renvoyer le spectateur à sa propre conscience.