If you’ve ever struggled with a CAPTCHA test—clicking on images of traffic lights, or picking out all the crosswalks—you’ve probably felt a twinge of frustration. But what if, like Lara in I’m Not a Robot, you started to question whether you could be a robot yourself when you failed again and again?
This idea came to director Victoria Warmerdam after she had her own run-in with CAPTCHA. What began as a simple frustration about technology spiraled into a thought-provoking film about identity, free will, and the blurring lines between human and machine. Warmerdam’s I’m Not a Robot starts with the mundane—Lara’s failure to pass a CAPTCHA test—but quickly becomes something far more existential.
Lara (played by Ellen Parren) is a music producer who experiences a meltdown when a simple CAPTCHA test throws her into a crisis of identity. Each failed attempt to prove she’s not a robot chips away at her sense of self, and the more she struggles, the more she questions whether she’s human at all. It’s a relatable, almost absurd situation, but it’s also an exploration of something much deeper: What makes us human? And what happens when technology starts to control that?
What I love about this film is how it uses humor and tension to explore these heavy themes. At first, the CAPTCHA failures seem trivial, but soon they become a symbol of how technology invades and sometimes even defines our identity. It’s not just about filling out a form; it’s about what it means to truly be seen and validated in a world where everything seems to be processed by machines.
Ellen Parren’s performance is incredibly powerful, grounding Lara’s emotional journey in raw vulnerability. She runs the emotional gamut from doubt and frustration to desperation, making us feel every moment of her crisis. And as the tension escalates, it’s impossible not to root for Lara as she tries to prove her humanity.
The film also cleverly critiques the power dynamics in Lara’s personal life. Her boyfriend Daniel (Henry van Loon) seems detached and unsympathetic to her struggle, which only deepens her sense of isolation. And when Pam (Thekla Reuten), a cold, robotic character, enters the picture, Lara’s journey becomes even more complicated.
Visually, the film does a wonderful job of reinforcing the themes of disconnection and confinement. The cold, corporate setting and the stark cinematography amplify Lara’s emotional turmoil, making the tension feel all the more real.
I’m Not a Robot left me thinking about how much of our lives are dictated by technology—and how, in a way, we all have to prove our humanness over and over again in the digital world. So, the next time I fail a CAPTCHA test, I’ll remember Lara’s crisis and ask myself: Am I a robot, too?
