Writer-director Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams opens on a nighttime shot of the Brooklyn Bridge, the Manhattan skyline in the distance. The year is 1984, and the Twin Towers loom, figuratively and literally, as ghostly figures. Berger’s breathtaking adaptation of Sara Varon’s graphic novel of the same name isn’t about the towers in any specific fashion, but about a world in which change is the only constant, life of any kind is at the mercy of randomness, and joy and melancholy are in ongoing symbiosis. In other words, our world—albeit one populated here, not by humans, but by anthropomorphic, humanoid animals.
Our surrogate in this world is Dog. At home by himself on a summer night, he’s drawn to a television commercial’s beckoning text (“Are you alone?”) and orders the product advertised, initially unseen by the viewer. Robot is soon delivered (some assembly required), and...
Our surrogate in this world is Dog. At home by himself on a summer night, he’s drawn to a television commercial’s beckoning text (“Are you alone?”) and orders the product advertised, initially unseen by the viewer. Robot is soon delivered (some assembly required), and...
- 5/26/2024
- by Rob Humanick
- Slant Magazine
Oscar-nominated “Robot Dreams” is getting a theatrical release almost one year after its Cannes debut.
Directed by Pablo Berger, “Robot Dreams” is based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon and follows the unexpected friendship between a dog and a robot. Dog lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone, so he does what any good boy would do: build himself a robot companion. Their friendship blossoms until they become inseparable — until Dog is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. And it’s all set to ’80s music.
The Oscar-nominated feature premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Special Jury Prize at the Animation Is Film Festival. “Robot Dreams” marks the “Blancanieves” filmmaker Berger’s animated feature debut.
“With ‘Robot Dreams’ I wanted to explore the infinite narrative possibilities of animation. A medium
where everything is possible and there are no formal limits,” Berger said in a press statement.
Directed by Pablo Berger, “Robot Dreams” is based on a graphic novel by Sara Varon and follows the unexpected friendship between a dog and a robot. Dog lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone, so he does what any good boy would do: build himself a robot companion. Their friendship blossoms until they become inseparable — until Dog is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. And it’s all set to ’80s music.
The Oscar-nominated feature premiered at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and later won the Special Jury Prize at the Animation Is Film Festival. “Robot Dreams” marks the “Blancanieves” filmmaker Berger’s animated feature debut.
“With ‘Robot Dreams’ I wanted to explore the infinite narrative possibilities of animation. A medium
where everything is possible and there are no formal limits,” Berger said in a press statement.
- 4/23/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Neon has released the trailer for the whimsical Oscar-nominated animated feature Robot Dreams. The film will open in New York on May 31 at the Film Forum and in Los Angeles on June 7. It will expand to more theaters throughout June.
Robot Dreams is an Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature and the 2024 Goya Award winner for Best Animated Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In the film, from writer and director Pablo Berger, Dog lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone. One day, he decides to build himself a robot, a companion.
Their friendship blossoms until they become inseparable from the rhythm of ’80s NYC. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness, is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. Will they ever meet again?
A tender, affecting tale of friendship, the animated Robot Dreams – adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon – is...
Robot Dreams is an Academy Award nominee for Best Animated Feature and the 2024 Goya Award winner for Best Animated Feature and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In the film, from writer and director Pablo Berger, Dog lives in Manhattan and is tired of being alone. One day, he decides to build himself a robot, a companion.
Their friendship blossoms until they become inseparable from the rhythm of ’80s NYC. One summer night, Dog, with great sadness, is forced to abandon Robot at the beach. Will they ever meet again?
A tender, affecting tale of friendship, the animated Robot Dreams – adapted from the graphic novel of the same name by Sara Varon – is...
- 4/23/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
20,000 Species Of Bees, the debut film by Basque filmmaker Estibaliz Urresola Solaguren, and Society Of The Snow, J. A. Bayona’s survival drama for Netflix, dominated the top honors at the eleventh Platino Awards Saturday evening.
The Mexican award show took place this year at the El Gran Tlachco theater in Xcaret Park, Riviera Maya. Bayona took best director on the night for Society Of The Snow. The film also won Best Feature while 20,000 Species Of Bees nabbed Best Screenplay and Best First Feature.
20,000 Species Of Bees debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, where lead actor Sofía Otero took the silver bear for best leading performance. The film is set during a summer in a village house linked to beekeeping and follows an eight-year-old and her mother experiencing revelations that will change their lives forever.
Bayona’s Society Of The Snow closed last year’s Venice Film Festival.
The Mexican award show took place this year at the El Gran Tlachco theater in Xcaret Park, Riviera Maya. Bayona took best director on the night for Society Of The Snow. The film also won Best Feature while 20,000 Species Of Bees nabbed Best Screenplay and Best First Feature.
20,000 Species Of Bees debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, where lead actor Sofía Otero took the silver bear for best leading performance. The film is set during a summer in a village house linked to beekeeping and follows an eight-year-old and her mother experiencing revelations that will change their lives forever.
Bayona’s Society Of The Snow closed last year’s Venice Film Festival.
- 4/21/2024
- by Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
In a triumphant night for Spain, J.A. Bayona’s Oscar-nominated “Society of the Snow” swept the top prizes at Platino Xcaret, named after the venue of the annual Platino Awards this year, which took place at the Xcaret Park, Riviera Maya, Mexico.
Argentina cinema’s plight, exacerbated by far-right president Javier Milei’s closure of its film institute, Incaa, was also on many people’s minds.
Citing veteran Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain as one of his inspirations, Bayona said upon receiving his best director award: “Argentina, we are here standing by your side, you’re not alone.”
Bayona’s harrowing account of the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash, from which only 16 people survived after 72 days stranded in the Andes, became Netflix’s second most-viewed non-English film of all time. “I wouldn’t be here without the book that Pablo Vierci wrote,” said Bayona, who also thanked his cast and crew,...
Argentina cinema’s plight, exacerbated by far-right president Javier Milei’s closure of its film institute, Incaa, was also on many people’s minds.
Citing veteran Argentine filmmaker Adolfo Aristarain as one of his inspirations, Bayona said upon receiving his best director award: “Argentina, we are here standing by your side, you’re not alone.”
Bayona’s harrowing account of the 1972 Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crash, from which only 16 people survived after 72 days stranded in the Andes, became Netflix’s second most-viewed non-English film of all time. “I wouldn’t be here without the book that Pablo Vierci wrote,” said Bayona, who also thanked his cast and crew,...
- 4/21/2024
- by Anna Marie de la Fuente
- Variety Film + TV
Plot: Desperate for companionship in the City That Never Sleeps, Dog builds Robot, a friend he can grow old with. When Robot becomes stranded on Playland Park beach, the couple waits and dreams about their anticipated reunion in unison. As days turn to months, Dog and Robot experience separate adventures, changing who they are. When they reunite, will they be the same?
Review: I moved from New York to Canada seven years ago this March. Since the life-altering trip across the border to my new home, I’ve only been back to the Big Apple three times. Of the few things, other than loved ones, that I left behind, New York City shines the brightest, like the Swarovski star atop the Rockafeller Center Christmas Tree. I often dream about returning, and thanks to director/writer Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, I felt what it was like to be back home...
Review: I moved from New York to Canada seven years ago this March. Since the life-altering trip across the border to my new home, I’ve only been back to the Big Apple three times. Of the few things, other than loved ones, that I left behind, New York City shines the brightest, like the Swarovski star atop the Rockafeller Center Christmas Tree. I often dream about returning, and thanks to director/writer Pablo Berger’s Robot Dreams, I felt what it was like to be back home...
- 2/3/2024
- by Steve Seigh
- JoBlo.com
Spanish-French co-production involves Barcelona-based Arcadia and France’s Noodles Production and Les Films du Worso.
Elle Driver will introduce sales on Spanish director Pablo Berger’s feature-length animation Robot Dreams at the upcoming European Film Market.
It is Berger’s fourth feature, after multi-award-winning silent melodrama Blancanieves and 2017 fantasy comedy-drama Abracadabra.
The director’s first foray into animation, it is adapted from the popular 2007 graphic novel of the same name by US artist Sara Varon, set in an imaginary 1980s New York populated by animals with no definable age or gender.
The storyline revolves around the friendship between Dog and...
Elle Driver will introduce sales on Spanish director Pablo Berger’s feature-length animation Robot Dreams at the upcoming European Film Market.
It is Berger’s fourth feature, after multi-award-winning silent melodrama Blancanieves and 2017 fantasy comedy-drama Abracadabra.
The director’s first foray into animation, it is adapted from the popular 2007 graphic novel of the same name by US artist Sara Varon, set in an imaginary 1980s New York populated by animals with no definable age or gender.
The storyline revolves around the friendship between Dog and...
- 2/22/2021
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- ScreenDaily
The International Cinephile Society has announced the nominees for the 11th Ics Awards. Abdellatif Kechiche's "Blue is the Warmest Color," the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis," Spike Jonze's "Her," and Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave" dominated the nominations with 7 nods each.
Winners of the 11th Ics Awards will be announced on February 23, 2014.
Here's the complete list of nominees:
Picture
. 12 Years a Slave
. Before Midnight
. Blue is the Warmest Color
. Frances Ha
. Gravity
. The Great Beauty
. Her
. Inside Llewyn Davis
. Laurence Anyways
. Spring Breakers
. The Wolf of Wall Street
Director
. Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
. Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
. Xavier Dolan - Laurence Anyways
. Spike Jonze - Her
. Abdellatif Kechiche - Blue is the Warmest Color
. Paolo Sorrentino - The Great Beauty
Film Not In The English Language
. Beyond the Hills
. Blancanieves
. Blue is the Warmest Color
. Faust
. The Great Beauty
. The Hunt
. In the...
Winners of the 11th Ics Awards will be announced on February 23, 2014.
Here's the complete list of nominees:
Picture
. 12 Years a Slave
. Before Midnight
. Blue is the Warmest Color
. Frances Ha
. Gravity
. The Great Beauty
. Her
. Inside Llewyn Davis
. Laurence Anyways
. Spring Breakers
. The Wolf of Wall Street
Director
. Ethan Coen & Joel Coen - Inside Llewyn Davis
. Alfonso Cuarón - Gravity
. Xavier Dolan - Laurence Anyways
. Spike Jonze - Her
. Abdellatif Kechiche - Blue is the Warmest Color
. Paolo Sorrentino - The Great Beauty
Film Not In The English Language
. Beyond the Hills
. Blancanieves
. Blue is the Warmest Color
. Faust
. The Great Beauty
. The Hunt
. In the...
- 1/14/2014
- by Manny
- Manny the Movie Guy
★★★★☆ The Brothers Grimm's pitch black fairytale Snow White is transformed by the Flamenco rhythms of 1920s Spain in director Pablo Berger's sumptuous and beguiling Blancanieves (2012), out now on Collector's Edition DVD. An unabashed homage to the silent cinema of twenties Europe, Berger's film is a delightfully mischievous reinvention of this age-old fairytale. Last year saw two larger-than-life adaptations of the Snow White story - Tarsem Singh's Mirror Mirror and Rupert Sanders' angsty Snow White and the Huntsman - yet Berger's direction is far more outlandish and indirect than both aforementioned renditions.
Setting his version in Seville, Berger presents his audience with a silent, black and white tale of the daughter of famous bullfighter Carmenita (played as a child by Sofía Oria, and later by Macarena García), raised by an evil stepmother after her father is paralysed during a performance. Instead of seven dwarfs, we have six miniature bullfighters,...
Setting his version in Seville, Berger presents his audience with a silent, black and white tale of the daughter of famous bullfighter Carmenita (played as a child by Sofía Oria, and later by Macarena García), raised by an evil stepmother after her father is paralysed during a performance. Instead of seven dwarfs, we have six miniature bullfighters,...
- 8/6/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
★★★★☆ Blancanieves (2012), the new film from Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger, is rooted in the cinema of old. It's both a rude adaptation of a classic fairytale, Snow White, and a return to the postmodern glamour of silent film. Like Michel Hazanavicius' Oscar-winning The Artist (2011) and Michel Gomes' Tabu (2012), Berger has been drawn to the obscure purity of monochrome images, boxed ratios, overloaded gestures and silent film cards. Blancanieves is a nostalgic tribute to the lost innocence of early cinema, longing to recapture that magical sense of discovery and enchantment in a ruthlessly cynical age.
Set in Seville during the 1920s, the golden era of silent film, the film centres around another lost showpiece, bullfighting, and a dark eyed young girl called Carmencita (played first by Sofia Oria). The daughter of a noble matador (Daniel Giménez Cacho) and flamenco dancer (Inma Cuesta), when her mother dies in childbirth, her father...
Set in Seville during the 1920s, the golden era of silent film, the film centres around another lost showpiece, bullfighting, and a dark eyed young girl called Carmencita (played first by Sofia Oria). The daughter of a noble matador (Daniel Giménez Cacho) and flamenco dancer (Inma Cuesta), when her mother dies in childbirth, her father...
- 7/11/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
Can another silent, black and white film be a smash hit after the Artist? If it packs a surreal Spanish twist, believes the director who recast Snow White as a matador in Blancanieves
In May 2011 the Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger was busily prepping his second film, Blancanieves. After an eight-year struggle to raise funding, he was finally about to start shooting a film whose uniqueness he was convinced would surprise and delight audiences the world over. After all, this was the sort of mainstream entertainment that hadn't been seen in decades — a black and white, silent movie, complete with lush orchestration.
But then came the Cannes film festival, and The Artist.
"Nobody knew about The Artist until it appeared in Cannes," he recalls, with a reflex ruefulness. "It was completely out of the blue. I was in my office in Madrid, doing the storyboards for my film, when a producer...
In May 2011 the Spanish writer-director Pablo Berger was busily prepping his second film, Blancanieves. After an eight-year struggle to raise funding, he was finally about to start shooting a film whose uniqueness he was convinced would surprise and delight audiences the world over. After all, this was the sort of mainstream entertainment that hadn't been seen in decades — a black and white, silent movie, complete with lush orchestration.
But then came the Cannes film festival, and The Artist.
"Nobody knew about The Artist until it appeared in Cannes," he recalls, with a reflex ruefulness. "It was completely out of the blue. I was in my office in Madrid, doing the storyboards for my film, when a producer...
- 7/11/2013
- by Demetrios Matheou
- The Guardian - Film News
By Nick Day
An orchestra quickly tunes up, and then brief silence before the music begins. The film opens with the image of a closed red curtain, some nameless theater, a bit of symbolism that signifies that this particular theater is in fact all theaters, as this film is meant for any and all audiences familiar with the tale of Snow White. Director and writer Pablo Berger is, by way of mis-en-scene, giving you a proper invitation to his particular world, and it would be a shame to pass it up.
Blancanieves is a stunner, at times alarmingly beautiful. It retains enough of the Grimm tale to feel familiar, but finds an altogether original way to interpret the material. Heartfelt and heartbreaking, this film is a celebration of cinema, of Spain, and of the human spirit.
And so, the red curtain opens and Blancanieves begins.
It is important to note that the film is dialogue-free,...
An orchestra quickly tunes up, and then brief silence before the music begins. The film opens with the image of a closed red curtain, some nameless theater, a bit of symbolism that signifies that this particular theater is in fact all theaters, as this film is meant for any and all audiences familiar with the tale of Snow White. Director and writer Pablo Berger is, by way of mis-en-scene, giving you a proper invitation to his particular world, and it would be a shame to pass it up.
Blancanieves is a stunner, at times alarmingly beautiful. It retains enough of the Grimm tale to feel familiar, but finds an altogether original way to interpret the material. Heartfelt and heartbreaking, this film is a celebration of cinema, of Spain, and of the human spirit.
And so, the red curtain opens and Blancanieves begins.
It is important to note that the film is dialogue-free,...
- 4/30/2013
- by Nick
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Blancanieves
Directed by Pablo Berger
Written by Pablo Berger
2012, Spain
The German tale of Snow White was published by Grimm brothers Jacob and Wilhelm in their Hausmärchen collection in 1812. Considered to be the most famous fairy tale worldwide, Snow White has been adapted to the big screen numerous times by the likes of Walt Disney, Michael Cohn and most recently Tarsem Singh and Rupert Sanders. Every adaptation has featured, respectively, their own variation of the literary source material. Now Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger has channeled all those energies, and through his own artistic sensibility, he artfully crafts a love letter to Hispanic culture and it’s history. Blancanieves is a beautifully executed vision of the Grimm fairy tale; with the key elements of Snow White all present and accounted for (the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the seven dwarfs). Only Berger takes it a step further, adding nods to Sleeping Beauty,...
Directed by Pablo Berger
Written by Pablo Berger
2012, Spain
The German tale of Snow White was published by Grimm brothers Jacob and Wilhelm in their Hausmärchen collection in 1812. Considered to be the most famous fairy tale worldwide, Snow White has been adapted to the big screen numerous times by the likes of Walt Disney, Michael Cohn and most recently Tarsem Singh and Rupert Sanders. Every adaptation has featured, respectively, their own variation of the literary source material. Now Spanish filmmaker Pablo Berger has channeled all those energies, and through his own artistic sensibility, he artfully crafts a love letter to Hispanic culture and it’s history. Blancanieves is a beautifully executed vision of the Grimm fairy tale; with the key elements of Snow White all present and accounted for (the poisoned apple, the glass coffin, and the seven dwarfs). Only Berger takes it a step further, adding nods to Sleeping Beauty,...
- 2/20/2013
- by Ricky da Conceição
- SoundOnSight
A stark, romantic and beautifully executed version of the Grimm fairy tale. It is thrilling see another black and white movie make it into the Oscar nominations. In this case it is Pablo Berger.s fascinating .Blancanieves,. the black and white (and silent) retelling of the brothers Grimm fairy tale .Snow White.. Raising the bar to unprecedented heights of minimalist exposition, the black and white video is accompanied by a sound track devoid of dialogue. However, although there is no talking (the few spoken lines are expressed in inter-titles), the sound track is a collection of some of the most beautiful music heard this year (original music by Alfonso de Vilallonga). The effect is as if the video portion...
- 2/7/2013
- by Ron Wilkinson
- Monsters and Critics
Writer/Director: Pablo Berger
Featuring: Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina, Sofia Oria, Macarena Garcia
Blancanieves, Pablo Berger's silent, black-and-white adaptation of "Snow White," is everything Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is not: funny and poignant by turns, equal parts grotesque and romantic, visually enthralling, with a sting in the tail. There's passion and magic in every crisply composed 1:33 frame. Forget CGI witches, leather jerkins and steampunk pistols, this is the way a Brothers Grimm fairy tale should be brought to the screen.
In this iteration, Snow White is Carmen, born as the only child of a champion bullfighter and a beautiful flamenco dancer in 1920s Andalusia. A dramatic accident in the arena leaves her mother dead and her father, Antonio (Daniel Giménez Cacho), comatose. Enter Encarna (Maribel Verdú), an ambitious nurse who sets her sights on becoming the bullfighter's next wife. She bullies him into...
Featuring: Maribel Verdú, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ángela Molina, Sofia Oria, Macarena Garcia
Blancanieves, Pablo Berger's silent, black-and-white adaptation of "Snow White," is everything Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters is not: funny and poignant by turns, equal parts grotesque and romantic, visually enthralling, with a sting in the tail. There's passion and magic in every crisply composed 1:33 frame. Forget CGI witches, leather jerkins and steampunk pistols, this is the way a Brothers Grimm fairy tale should be brought to the screen.
In this iteration, Snow White is Carmen, born as the only child of a champion bullfighter and a beautiful flamenco dancer in 1920s Andalusia. A dramatic accident in the arena leaves her mother dead and her father, Antonio (Daniel Giménez Cacho), comatose. Enter Encarna (Maribel Verdú), an ambitious nurse who sets her sights on becoming the bullfighter's next wife. She bullies him into...
- 1/16/2013
- by Karina Wilson
- Planet Fury
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