This evening I caught a showing of Robot Stories at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge. The net has been buzzing about this film. I first caught mention of it on /. and most of the posters were raving about it. Having seen it I can say that it lived up to the audience hype (possibly the only type of reliable hype that exists). It is well filmed, well constructed, and executed. This is proof that you don’t need a big budget and Hollywood flash to produce a compelling work.
The director and screenwriter Greg Pak as on hand for a question and answer session. He stressed that this movie has produced and distributed independently. Most of the promotion is being done by word of mouth and via the Internet. Finally we are starting to see film capture the Internet momentum that independent music is now just starting to benefit from. I was also happy to hear that the post-production work was done completely on Macintosh systems. Digital video technology is making it possible to produce high quality works at much reduced cost. For example the total cost of Robot Stories was quoted as being “under $1 million.”
The film is billed as “Science Fiction from the Heart”, a very accurate description. This is not the robot SciFi of eras past and it is not the universe if the Matrix. Closer matches would be Short Circuit or A.I. I think though Robot Stories is a closer and truer expression of the overlapping themes. In the world of Robot Stories the product of human imagination in the form of robots technology augments the human experience. There is no conquest of the human race, rather people are shown to interact with their creations to enhance their daily existence. No matter how complex and sophisticated our lives becomes we still have the same basic needs for expression and a sense of belonging. Perhaps the robots do as well.
Each of the four stories in the movie highlights a different theme. In first story, “My Robot Baby”, an adoption agency uses a baby sized robots to evaluate prospective parents for a one month period. The robot adapts and responds to its environment and to the parents. One might ask who is adapting to whom.
The second story “The Robot Fixer” a young man is in a coma after being hit by a car. His mother tries to being him back by fixing his toy robot collection. The woman who plays the mother is remarkable. For me this was the most touching of the 4 pieces.
Humans have the ability to empathize with each other. Might machines be able to do the same if made in the image of man? “Machine Love” introduces Archie (an iPerson), designed to fit seamlessly into the workplace. Only how will people accept him? Does he feel?
Reality is based on perception. What if you could trap your conscience in to a data system, would you be real? Would that reality be the same as if you were inside a human body. In a way you would never die. You would continue to grow and develop, only in a different way. Isn’t death a part of life? In the world of “Clay” you might ask yourself these questions.
I think that you can see that I enjoyed this film immensely. I hope that it gets the recognition that it deserves. If you don’t find a screening in your area keep an eye out for the DVD release. Pak is currently in negotiations to have the film video distributed. His next project is a Western.
