Had the pleasure of catching a stand-out indie-flick this weekend, one that needs (and deserves) all the word of mouth, and word of web, that it can muster. Since hitting the festival circuit in late 2002, it's grabbed almost two dozen awards, and now it's jumping around the country with short runs at receptive theaters like the Brattle in Cambridge.
The movie is Robot Stories, and it's actually an anthology of four short-films that share a loose robotic theme. Writer/director Greg Pak pulled together these four stories of his to create something that feels cohesive, exploring issues of "love, death, family... and robots". Even if you're one of those weirdos who is sci-fi-shy, don't be scared... a couple of the stories contain more human emotion and genuine feeling than your average big-name drama.
My favorite of the four was probably the second, called The Robot Fixer, about a mother coming to terms with the loss of her emotionally distant son. (and yes, those are all director Pak's toys in the film, in case you were wondering). According to Pak, who did a Q&A after our screening, this one actually started filming in New York on September 10th, 2001... and as events unfolded over the following days, all involved were driven to keep working in order to deal with the tragedy.
I also liked the third and fourth stories quite a bit, titled Machine Love and Clay. Not just wonderfully acted, but engaging enough leave you wishing for a deeper look into the worlds they create. Director Pak (sans-beard) does an great job playing a model G-9 worker-robot in Machine Love, aided by some excellent sound effects. Very cool.
Not only does this movie deserve your time & money, but their website deserves a visit, too. They've pulled together one of the most complete indie-film sites I've seen in awhile. Not because its design is overly-innovative (it's simple, clean, & fast), or because it's a flash-masterpiece (it's flash-free), but because it's got every bit of info you could want, and more. It's also one of the first film sites I've seen where the director keeps a blog, talking about his current tour with the film around the country. Great stuff. You can also sign up to be a Robot Buddy, becoming an official part of the word-of-mouth network.
This film is the quintessential underdog... no real distribution, but an enthusiastic director eager to interact with his audience, relying on friends telling friends (and site surfers) to hunt it down and check it out. If you're in Boston, Robot Stories will be showing at the Brattle Theatre through Thursday the 4th. If you're elsewhere, check out the screenings schedule. If you're lucky, it's somewhere near you soon.
