This is a film that examines the premise of robotics in four separate stories and the end result is both a hit and miss with some of the episodes better than others. The first story involves Marcia and Roy (Tamlyn Tomita and James Saito) who are given a small robot to care for and it monitors how well they take care of it and this is a test for them before they are allowed to adopt a real baby. The second story is about Bernice (Wai Ching Ho) who along with her daughter Grace (Cindy Cheung) visit her comatose son Wilson and they must decide whether to pull the plug on him since he is brain dead. Bernice discovers that he was an avid lover of robot toys and explores them to try and figure out things about her estranged son. The third is about a robot office worker named Archie (Greg Pak) who notices a female robot and falls in love. The fourth story is about John (Sab Shimono) who is a dying clay sculptor who doesn't want his consciousness to live on when a digital replica of his brain is made and he frequently talks to his dead wife Helen (Eisa Davis) who appears in holographic form.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
This film is written and directed by Greg Pak (Who appears in the film) and he makes his feature film debut here with mixed results but his stories do have a way of making you think even if they leave you with no conclusion. This film is extremely low budget and it shows but what hurts this effort the most is the writing. The first story is well made but seems obvious and in the second you can't help but notice how cold and unaffected Grace is by her brothers condition. The fourth is the best and Shimono gives a splendid performance and if the other stories were this good than more people would be talking about this film. Director Pak in interviews has said that he made this because he always thought robots were "cool" and this does have an air of uniqueness that science fiction lovers will definitely want to check out. I do recommend this effort and it's because of the first and fourth stories with Tomita and Shimono giving solid performances. It's been way to long since I've seen Tomita in anything and I've always been a fan of hers since "The Karate Kid, Part II" and she has still retained her beautiful appearance. This is not a film for everyone but it's one that I do feel is worth checking out.
*****SPOILER ALERT*****
This film is written and directed by Greg Pak (Who appears in the film) and he makes his feature film debut here with mixed results but his stories do have a way of making you think even if they leave you with no conclusion. This film is extremely low budget and it shows but what hurts this effort the most is the writing. The first story is well made but seems obvious and in the second you can't help but notice how cold and unaffected Grace is by her brothers condition. The fourth is the best and Shimono gives a splendid performance and if the other stories were this good than more people would be talking about this film. Director Pak in interviews has said that he made this because he always thought robots were "cool" and this does have an air of uniqueness that science fiction lovers will definitely want to check out. I do recommend this effort and it's because of the first and fourth stories with Tomita and Shimono giving solid performances. It's been way to long since I've seen Tomita in anything and I've always been a fan of hers since "The Karate Kid, Part II" and she has still retained her beautiful appearance. This is not a film for everyone but it's one that I do feel is worth checking out.