Kimi on HBO Max is a fictional movie about a tech company worker hearing something unsettling on an audio stream from one of the omnipresent Big Brother Alexa/Google Home type of devices (called Kimi in this case). Similar in concept to Blow Out (1981) which was inspired from Blow-Up (1966) (and Blow-Up directed by Michaelangelo Antonioni was also the inspiration for Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), hence the murder of Satish Shah happens in a garden called Antonioni Park as an homage). Directed by Steven Soderbergh at a crisp 1hr 29 mins, it does stretch credulity at times like most thrillers do, but the underlying themes of privacy and what and how much of ourselves we willingly offer up by clicking “I agree” on those Byzantine EULAs and their potential for abuse and misuse is worthy of viewing.
February 19, 2022