In the four-part anthology film "Robot Stories," writer/director Greg Pak examines the role that technology plays in modern life, pondering the age old quandaries of what is real and what is synthetic and whether or not technology can truly enhance our lives. Knowing a good thing when he sees it, Pak has chosen to utilize many of the same cast members - largely Asian - for each of the unrelated episodes.The first story, entitled "My Robot Baby," takes place in the not too distant future when couples who are looking to adopt a child are first sent home with a fully computerized and monitored, "simulated" baby that they have to take care of for a brief period of time (this is a more elaborate version of what many high school Health teachers do with their students to convince them of just how much work caring for a newborn can be). How the participants do on this "test" helps to determine their fitness as parents and their eligibility for getting a "real" child in the future. This segment is both creepy and witty in roughly equal measure. In the well acted and touching second episode, "The Robot Fixer," a young man lies brain dead in a hospital after he is run over by a car. His mother and sister, who have long been estranged from the man, spend their time reconstructing his collection of beloved toy robots as a way of coming to terms with who he really is. This is the only section that deals not with futuristic technology per se but with the part technology plays in our imaginations and fantasies. The third installment, "Machine Love," is probably the most conventional of the quartet, about how even two robots - in this case, two office "workers" - need a little love in a cold, uncaring world. It's a theme that has been explored in virtually every film involving robots since "Metropolis" in 1927. "Clay," the fourth and most thoughtful segment, takes us to a future world in which people, rather than dying, become somehow absorbed into a giant "system" that allows them to live on in holographic form. A dying sculptor is forced to choose between this kind of virtual "eternal life" devoid of tactile sensation, or taking his chances with a more natural albeit uncertain existence in the great beyond.As with many anthology films, "Robot Stories" turns out to be better in parts than it is as a whole, with certain episodes inevitably proving to be more imaginative and more captivating than others. Moreover, the twenty-odd minute length allotted for each section doesn't allow for the kind of depth and resonance one finds in more fully developed feature length movies. Nevertheless, given the constraints of the format he has chosen, Pak has mounted an impressive little product, taking advantage of his miniscule budget to adopt a subtle, low-keyed approach to a subject that, given less limited resources, might otherwise have become top heavy with special effects. The acting - particularly on the part of the older actors in the cast - is outstanding. "Robot Stories" may not satisfy the demands of the average sci-fi aficionado, but those in search of something different may enjoy it.

"Robot Stories" tells four stories following the theme of isolation, and its remedy, or lack thereof, through technology. "My Baby Robot" shows couple seeking to adopt a child who are given a robot infant to test their worthiness for a human child. "The Robot Fixer" deals with an emotionally-distant mother whose son lies brain-dead in a coma. When she finds remnants of his boyhood toy robot collection, she seeks to complete and restore the collection. In "Robot Love," a humanoid office robot with the ability to interact is frustrated by his human co-workers unwillingness to do so. The final tale, "Clay," tells the story of a dying sculptor given to the opportunity to have his mind scanned so that his consciousness can survive after his death in huge database.I wasn't sure what to expect when I saw this film. From the trailer, I expected a somewhat whimsical piece about love and robots, and the third tale with its G9 iPerson is certainly whimsical enough, but I found the overall film much more emotionally challenging and moving than I anticipated. The second and fourth stories were the best.SPOILERS...."The Robot Fixer" is hardly science fiction at all. The only robots are little plastic toys. The film starts with a mother, wonderfully played by Wai Ching Ho, arriving to find her son lying in a coma. It soon becomes clear her son was a disappointment to her, and that she never understood him. She later goes to his apartment and finds a collection of toy robots he saved from childhood. The mother realizes the fact that her son saved the robots all these years showed that they were important to him. In an attempt to understand him better, and perhaps draw him out of his coma, she goes to great lengths to repair the robots and bring them to his bedside in the hospital. She poignantly doesn't succeed in drwaing him from the coma, but learns a great deal about herself and her son in the process.In "Clay," a dying sculptor is required to have his brain scanned so that his consciousness can survive in a huge database. The artist, played by Sab Shimono, resists, despite knowing that the process indeed works. His deceased wife survives in the database and visits him in holographic form. She is, in fact, a better wife to him dead than she was alive. Not only does she love him more now, she has achieved a blissful state of happiness in the database. That's one of the problems. The artist knows he has lived a selfish life and doesn't deserve the happiness he would find in the database. He'd rather take his chances on a natural death than survive in a reality he finds false and artificial."Robot Stories" is an excellent first feature by writer/director Greg Pak. I look forward to seeing another one.

Caught the film at a special preview in Los Angeles. Four Twilight-Zonish stories with themes spanning birth to death. Particularly liked Tamlyn Tomita in "My Robot Baby" and the amazing actress who played the grieving mother in "The Robot Fixer." It's incidentally the best looking tape-to-film transfer I've ever seen.

You will be thoroughly confused if you get hooked in on the one-liner that promotes Robot Stories; Love, Death & Robots or something to that effect. It confused the hell out of me when 3 friends and I went out of our way to attend the screening. Robot Stories is set around four stories all shot on digital video. The stories are bland, campy and utterly boring. Any attempt at an artistic or original plots or vision is null and void with this film and director. It seems that Robot Stories is unfortunately another product of a $60,000.00 a year film school education. I'd also like to add that the VC film festival made it very difficult for people to purchase tickets during the last few days before the film. It's very annoying to drive long distances and not know if the show is going to be sold out.