Robot Dreams

Eine bittersüße Tragikomödie über Freundschaft, Einsamkeit und die unausweichlichen Veränderungen im Dasein: Basierend auf der gleichnamigen Graphic Novel der Amerikanerin Sara Varon erzählt der spanische Regisseur Pablo Berger in ROBOT DREAMS von dem einsamen New Yorker Dog, der sich einen Freund in Gestalt des Robotermodells Amica 2000 bestellt. Leider nimmt ein Ausflug ans Meer für den metallenen Kumpel kein gutes Ende, und die Beziehungen müssen sich neu arrangieren. Mit seinen extrem liebenswerten Figuren in einem stimmigen 80er Jahre New York Setting gewann der dialoglose Film den Contrechamp Grand Prix beim Animationsfestival in Annecy. (Lars Penning)

ROBOT DREAMS, Pablo Berger’s debut animated feature, follows the adventures of Dog and his new android companion Robot. Adapted from Sara Varon’s graphic novel, the film is set in 1980s Manhattan and boasts an old-school, cartoon aesthetic. It begins by depicting Dog’s feelings of isolation and his desire for connection with piercing accuracy, before entering an upbeat, celebratory passage that testifies to the happiness Robot and Dog provide for each other. Eventually, however, the two friends will have to deal with a forced separation.
Like BLANCANIEVES, Berger’s successful live-action feature, ROBOT DREAMS eschews words. It trusts in the power of soundtrack, gesture and composition to bring the story alive. The film is not concerned with the limits of artificial intelligence; Berger’s approach is neither scientific or speculative, nor is it heroic. ROBOT DREAMS is closer to an existential fable in which humanity is granted to each character without reservation—no matter their shape, nature or origin. With a tone that mixes warmth, hope, melancholy and wistfulness, ROBOT DREAMS makes us reflect upon the swerves in life, the accidents we can’t control, and companionships found and lost. (Cristina Álvarez López)

Pablo Berger: MAMA (1988, K), TORREMOLINOS 73 (2003), BLANCANIEVES (2012), PARA VER Y SENTIRLO (2013), ABRACADABRA (2017)