Robot Dreams (2023)

User Review

• 

  Barneyonmovies

  8 / 10

  WHAT I LIKED: Like the recent 'Past Lives,' Pablo Berger's new animation 'Robot Dreams,' is a beautifully honest film that rejects the idea of fate or destiny in favour of a story about the importance of finding and holding onto our meaningful relationships.
  
  It unlocks those themes by following a sad, lonely guy (well, Dog) who buys a Robot to be his partner, and they find blissful happiness together in Dog's everyday New York life. But when they go on a seaside trip at the end of their summer of love, Robot rusts up and gets locked on the beach for the winter and the pair are forced apart. Initially they struggle with superficial friendships in the aftermath; Robot in the form of some nesting birds, and Dog in the form of a very cool duck who rides around on a moped with the wind in their hair. But eventually they find true joy and connection again with other folks, and when they bump into each other at the end of the film, they poetically decide to love the ones they're with.
  
  That's a beautiful journey, and it feels especially earnest because the animation uses show don't tell so well that it doesn't actually use any talking at all. Instead it just focuses on the beautiful details of the creatures' facial expressions and funny little observational moments on its wonderful New York streets, and that lends incredible tangibility to the characters and their setting.
  
  WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE: Perhaps the strange dream sequence in the middle goes on a bit long, but aside from that it's a very hard film to fault.
  
  VERDICT: Pablo Berger's 'Robot Dreams,' is a beautifully earnest film about finding and holding onto human connection.

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