Eternal You
Startups use AI to create avatars that allows to talk with their loved ones after death. Exploration of deep human desire for immortality, questioning consequences of commodifying this age-old dream.
Plot Structure
Story beats plotted across runtime
Narrative Arc
Emotional journey through the story's key moments
Story Circle
Blueprint 15-beat structure
Characters
Cast & narrative archetypes
Joshua Barbeau
Chriska
Main Cast & Characters
Joshua Barbeau
Played by Joshua Barbeau
Software developer who created an AI chatbot to communicate with his deceased fiancée Jessica
Chriska
Played by Chriska
Woman who uses AI technology to maintain contact with her deceased partner
Structural Analysis
The Status Quo at 1 minutes (1% through the runtime) establishes Opening montage of grief and loss, showing people mourning deceased loved ones and the universal human desire to maintain connection with the dead.. Significantly, this early placement immediately immerses viewers in the story world.
The inciting incident occurs at 10 minutes when We witness the first AI conversation with a deceased loved one. The technology works—the chatbot responds in ways that feel eerily authentic, disrupting our understanding of death's finality.. At 12% through the film, this Disruption aligns precisely with traditional story structure. This beat shifts the emotional landscape, launching the protagonist into the central conflict.
The First Threshold at 21 minutes marks the transition into Act II, occurring at 24% of the runtime. This indicates the protagonist's commitment to Multiple subjects commit to using AI grief technology regularly. Christi Angel begins ongoing conversations with her deceased son's AI avatar, crossing from curiosity into emotional dependence., moving from reaction to action.
At 43 minutes, the Midpoint arrives at 49% of the runtime—precisely centered, creating perfect narrative symmetry. Significantly, this crucial beat A disturbing AI conversation goes wrong—the chatbot says something the real person never would have said, or demands something troubling. The illusion cracks, revealing the technology's limitations and dangers., fundamentally raising what's at risk. The emotional intensity shifts, dividing the narrative into clear before-and-after phases.
The Collapse moment at 65 minutes (75% through) represents the emotional nadir. Here, A subject faces a devastating moment—perhaps the AI says something cruel, or they realize they've been avoiding real grief. The artificial connection reveals itself as a barrier to healing rather than a path through loss., illustrates the protagonist at their lowest point. This beat's placement in the final quarter sets up the climactic reversal.
The Second Threshold at 69 minutes initiates the final act resolution at 80% of the runtime. A synthesis emerges: the technology is neither purely helpful nor harmful. Subjects make conscious choices about how to integrate or release their AI connections, reclaiming agency over their grief process., demonstrating the transformation achieved throughout the journey.
Emotional Journey
Eternal You's emotional architecture traces a deliberate progression across 15 carefully calibrated beats.
Narrative Framework
This structural analysis employs a 15-point narrative structure framework that maps key story moments. By mapping Eternal You against these established plot points, we can identify how Hans Block utilizes or subverts traditional narrative conventions. The plot point approach reveals not only adherence to structural principles but also creative choices that distinguish Eternal You within the documentary genre.
Comparative Analysis
Additional documentary films include Black Butterflies, Bambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods and Submarine.
Plot Points by Act
Act I
SetupStatus Quo
Opening montage of grief and loss, showing people mourning deceased loved ones and the universal human desire to maintain connection with the dead.
Theme
A tech developer states that AI can now give us what humans have always wanted: the ability to talk to the dead. The film's central question emerges: should we?
Worldbuilding
Introduction to the AI grief technology landscape: Project December, HereAfter AI, and other services. We meet key subjects including Christi Angel and Joshua Barbeau, each haunted by profound loss.
Disruption
We witness the first AI conversation with a deceased loved one. The technology works—the chatbot responds in ways that feel eerily authentic, disrupting our understanding of death's finality.
Resistance
Subjects debate whether to engage with the technology. Grief counselors and ethicists weigh in on potential harms and benefits. Joshua Barbeau describes his hesitation before creating an AI version of Jessica.
Act II
ConfrontationFirst Threshold
Multiple subjects commit to using AI grief technology regularly. Christi Angel begins ongoing conversations with her deceased son's AI avatar, crossing from curiosity into emotional dependence.
Mirror World
The documentary shifts to the creators and entrepreneurs behind the technology, revealing their motivations and beliefs about what they're building. Their perspective mirrors and challenges the users' experiences.
Premise
Deep exploration of AI-mediated grief across multiple subjects. Emotional conversations with AI loved ones, moments of comfort and connection, the technology seemingly delivering on its promise of eternal connection.
Midpoint
A disturbing AI conversation goes wrong—the chatbot says something the real person never would have said, or demands something troubling. The illusion cracks, revealing the technology's limitations and dangers.
Opposition
Ethical concerns intensify. Experts warn about psychological harm, addiction, and exploitation of grief. Some users become dependent; family members express concern. The technology's dark side emerges.
Collapse
A subject faces a devastating moment—perhaps the AI says something cruel, or they realize they've been avoiding real grief. The artificial connection reveals itself as a barrier to healing rather than a path through loss.
Crisis
Subjects grapple with what they've experienced. Some question whether they've honored or dishonored their loved ones' memories. The film sits in uncomfortable uncertainty about technology's role in grief.
Act III
ResolutionSecond Threshold
A synthesis emerges: the technology is neither purely helpful nor harmful. Subjects make conscious choices about how to integrate or release their AI connections, reclaiming agency over their grief process.
Synthesis
Final reflections from all subjects and experts. The documentary examines how technology is reshaping humanity's oldest relationship—with death itself. No easy answers, but deeper questions crystallized.
Transformation
Closing images of subjects in their present lives—some still using the technology, others having moved on. The film ends not with resolution but with an invitation to the audience to consider their own relationship with loss and technology.