Da Vinci

Da Vinci focuses on the eponymous specialized surgical robot whose mechanical arms perform intricate operations. As in Il capo and Piattaforma luna, the Italian director's interest is in the choreography of the machine as a kind of working human intelligence rather than as the harbinger of a dehumanized world. Filmed for the most part from inside the surgical patient, Da Vinci's mesmerizing bluish images, evocative of deep-sea diving or interplanetary adventures, tell a story of tiny robots perfectly completing incalculably exacting tasks. Somewhere between science fiction and experimental film, Da Vinci is an astounding audiovisual experience.