My Thoughts on the Movie "A.I.: Artificial Intelligence"...

Produced by Stephen Spielberg, this modern version of Pinocchio is the story of the first robot boy who can love, named Daniel. Rejected by the parents upon whom he first imprinted, he begins a quest to find the Blue Fairy (from the story of Pinocchio) whom he believes can turn him into a real boy so that his mother will love him. On his quest he is befriended by an artificially intelligent prostitute. A connection is made regarding the similarity between his friend’s prostitution of the sexual desire, and Daniel’s prostitution of the parental desire. That avenue, however, is not pursued beyond its conception. Eventually Daniel finds the Pinocchio ride at the submerged Coney Island theme park. At this ride he finds a statue of the Blue Fairy from his story, to which he prays that he may become a real boy. The movie ends with Daniel futilely repeating his heartbreaking plea to an unhearing statue until his energy is expended. The story is violently defibrillated, however, when Daniel is reanimated 2000 years later by extremely advanced robots who live in a world without humans. Daniel begs for his mother and the robots are able to reanimate her and return to her all of her memories, but she will live only for a single day. Once she goes to sleep at the end of the day, she will not wake up. The story finally ends, long after the movie has given up, with Daniel choosing not to get up from next to his sleeping mother after the only day that she loved him.

The special affects in this movie are very well done. They are occasionally showcased, but not overly glamorous. There is a very interesting camera technique used that gives the appearance of overexposed film. The vast majority of the film is made with this technique, with emphasis on scenes that are particularly pivotal or emotionally charged, and it actually becomes a little distracting. I have not yet decided whether I like the effect or not, but it is at least new and different. There must be a purpose behind the technique, but I don’t know what it is.

Several philosophical issues are introduced regarding artificial intelligence; they are not, however, addressed decisively or even much more than conceptualized. The movie introduces the problem of torturing things which do not live when Daniel is captured by a round up gang for a debacle that showcases the destruction of “mechas,” as robots are called. Also, Daniel is introduced to the family as a possible means to cope with the likely loss of their terminally ill son, and this introduces the difficulty between letting go of a loved one who’s dead and defacing their memory by trying to replace them with someone(thing) else. Another issue that is introduced is the favoritism shown by parents against a child whom is not viewed as being as good as the other child(ren) and the ensuing rivalry between siblings. These issues are never truly discussed, however. When Daniel is put on stage at the destruction debacle, possibly making the point that Mechas could be just as human as people, the issue is avoided when the spectators mistake Daniel for a real boy and protest that particular incident without making any lasting impression on the rest of the show. When Daniel is introduced as a potential coping mechanism, the issue is avoided by the unexplained, guarded acceptance of his “mother.” When the issue of letting go versus replacement comes to a pinnacle, it is conveniently interrupted by a complication in the plot. When perceived favoritism results in a dangerous level of sibling rivalry, it is conveniently time for Daniel to go away forever. When Daniel is confronted by his unscrupulous compatriot with the fact that his mother doesn’t really love him (but rather loves what Daniel does for her just as the customers love what the prostitute does for them), Daniel rebuts with an escape to the fairy tale “Blue Fairy.”

Ultimately, a very well made movie, but in the intellectual arena it lands in the disappointingly teasing ‘meringue’ category.