Robot Stories

Ending a week's run at the Oak Street Cinema tonight (sorry, folks, I've been without access to the internet for a few days now) is a strange four-part film dealing with what makes us human, how technology effects our lives, and all sorts of things that strike know-nothings who are so ignorant of science fiction that they actually call it "Sci-Fi" (such as, well, nobody comes to mind right now (Star-Tribune critic Colin Covert) as being unusual topics for it to deal with ("Sci-Fi is usually a hard-edged genre?" UGH!). How WELL this film deals with them is another question: two of the stories are the epitome of ultra-low budget indie film making that doesn't work, the other two are very moving.

It opens up with a real embarassment: "My Robot Baby", in which a couple who should never consider having children decide to try out the idea anyway by "renting" a robot baby that will be a test of the parenting skills they need to handle the real thing. Badly written and acted, it also doesn't help that the potential mother is a really stereotyped harpy, and that the "baby" looks more like a gigantic metal egg. This is the bad TV-movie version of science fiction.

The second story isn't really science fiction at all, but it's quite touching: "The Robot Fixer" deals with a mother whose thirty-something son is in a coma after being hit by a car. He had remained obsessed with the same robot action figures he loved as a child, and mom begins to seek out the ultra-rare and expensive replacement parts needed for the rarest figures in his collection and brings them in to his hospital room, in hopes that they'll spark some recovery. As she begins to get as fascinated with the figures as her son was, the resulting story is a fascinating blend of obsession and the strength of a mother's love for her child, and how far and long a person will literally hope against hope. An odd, but genuinely moving story.

Story three isn't an embarassment like story one, but it's certainly a weak link: "Machine Love" stars the film's writer/director Greg Pak as a humanoid robot designed to be the perfect office worker. There have been plenty of stories both on film and in print about robots who don't understand what it is to be human and try awkwardly to fit in, and this one brings nothing new to the genre. Pak's weak performance doesn't really help, either.

Story four, however, is a real stand out: in "Clay", an elderly sculptor with less than a year to live has to decide whether to simply die and go on to whatever awaits or doesn't await humans when they die, or to have his consciousness downloaded into electronic form and live virtually forever. His long-deceased wife, who had this done to herself, continues to try to convince him to take the same route, but he's not sure. Is it worth living forever if we have to give up being who we are? Or DO we really give that up by becoming something other than "human", whatever that may mean? Besides plenty of food for thought, "Clay" offers a deeply touching story with acting that could make you forget you ARE watching actors.

So all in all, in spite of a couple of less than stellar sections, "Robot Stories" is still well worth a look. And if you like what you in "The Robot Fixer" and "Clay", there are innumerable novels and short stories awaiting you in the science fiction section of book stores and libraries that are just as powerful, in spite of what certain critics for certain Minneapolis newspapers might think...