Robot Stories Movie

Ant writes "One line synopsis -- Winner of over 23 awards, 'Robot Stories' is science fiction from the heart, four stories in which utterly human characters struggle to connect in a world of robot babies, robot toys, android office workers, and digital immortality." There are a few reviews available.

SF29!

[MisterTut]

I'll be watching this movie in 2 days at the 29th annual Boston Sci-Fi Movie Marathon! Can't wait!

Wow

[bigattichouse]

Just saw this on memepool last night... I feel all ahead of the curve and stuff.

Or a better review/synopsis as follows...

[dark-br]

The disparity between ambition and aptitude has doomed more than one indie, as a veritable graveyard of worthy half-hour films padded to interminable feature length attests. What a pleasure, then, that writer-director Greg Pak gives each episode in his four-part Robot Stories precisely the running time needed to explore its ideas, and not a moment more. Pak, in fact, is savvy and sensitive enough to hold something back in each tale--an audience-grabbing technique even the similarly themed, overdeveloped-in-every-sense A.I. couldn't manage.

As the title says, Pak uses an ostensible sci-fi motif to link his four pieces. What truly binds them, however, is a subtle exploration of the tension between the human and the synthetic, and the sometimes fuzzy distinction between the two. The film also has a distinguishable arc, beginning with an exceedingly nontraditional "birth" and closing with a triumphant death. "My Robot Baby" follows a yuppified couple keen on adopting a child as they take a test run with a mechanical, C-3PO-meets-Furby stand-in. After attempting a disastrous caregiving work-around, Marcia (Tamlyn Tomita), whose own tumultuous childhood is glimpsed in a brief prologue, discovers a nascent nurturing streak beneath her chilly exterior.

The most effective and least science-fictiony of the bunch, "The Robot Fixer," is a poignant, minutely observed study of loss and acceptance. A mother (Wai Ching Ho) stands watch over her comatose son, and with the help of her daughter (Cindy Cheung) and the young man's boyhood toy-robot collection (of which she has no recollection), discerns the scope of the emotional wedge she's driven between herself and her children. The final installments, "Machine Love," a Twilight Zone-esque lark concerning the dawning need for intimacy experienced by an android corporate lackey (played by Pak himself), and "Clay," an edgier look at machine love that slyly asks whether eternal life via a vast computer-network "heaven" would be all that heavenly, are slighter but just as well crafted.

For all the melodrama lurking at the edges of Robot Stories, Pak never resorts to preachiness or pathos. He's an uncannily assured visual storyteller, and his crew--particularly cinematographer Peter Olsen and editor Stephanie Sterne--matches his creative fervor. The result is a quietly impassioned, genuinely stirring indie rarity. As a character in "The Robot Fixer" puts it, "A little care goes a long way."

Source: VillageVoice [villagevoice.com]

Re:SF29!

[Anonymous Coward]

Robot Stories is one of the best book that Kurt Vonnegut ever wrote. For those of you who haven't read it, I can't recommend it enough.

great film

[Anonymous Coward]

I've seen this four times (that what I get for being a film festival projectionist). It's by far the most original film that I've seen in the last year, and it should appeal to lots of different crowds (sci-fi, art house, etc.). It even makes a good date movie.

Anyone in NYC (or DC, or Boston, or Chicago, or LA, or any of the other cities where it is opening today or soon) should make a point of going to see it. Support quality film efforts like this. It's even independently distributed (no MPAA here!).

Re:Independents need to hit Netflix quickly

[mstra]

The problem is, the "big" festivals will disqualify you if your flick is not a premiere.

They haven't really figured out what to do with self-distribution yet; my movie is distributed via CustomFlix [customflix.com] (which is like CafePress for DVD's), and most of the festivals we've submitted to are cool with that, but some aren't. Also, if you're looking for a distribution deal, it's almost for certain a no-go if you have copies of your film floating around for general viewing already.

Robot Babes?

[Halloween Jack]

Oh, that was robot babies. Never mind. I say, bring on the robot babes! [sorayama.net] (possibly NSFW)

I saw this at the St. Louis Film Festival

[Elonka]

... last November.

First off, it was excellent. I also had a chance to meet the film-maker, Greg Pak, and was very impressed. He's a geek who's going out and making movies about geek things, but telling them in ways that everyone, both geeks and non-geeks, can understand.

If you're looking for a high-tech special effects thriller that's heavy on hardware, you may not enjoy Pak's stuff. But if you're looking for some moving stories that really nail some of the emotional truths about people and the way they connect with each other, I can't recommend this movie enough.

I think one of my favorite stories was the one about the mother whose son was gravely ill in the hospital, and she copes with his illness by lovingly restoring each one of his childhood robot toys (and yes, they're real toys -- the director understands!)

Pak already had somewhat of a name for himself by making a few quirky shorts which are already on the internet [gregpak.com]. And I'm pleased to see that he's turned that notoriety into a feature-length film. And I definitely look forward to seeing more stuff from him in the future! He deserves all the support we can give him.

Elonka :)