Rent A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Prepare yourself before watching - A.I. Artificial Intelligence review by DT

This is the most moving film I've ever watched, and I've seen it a few times since its first release.

It's so compelling. If the last scene doesn't bring a tear I'd be amazed.

Be warned though you'll recall scenes as you progress though your own life. I'm in my mid 70's and can tell you from experience.

A must watch.

Epic, Thoughtful Science Fiction - A.I. Artificial Intelligence review by GI

Steven Spielberg's science fiction cum fairy story epic is a really interesting film, flawed in theme and concept but still one that offers something new and interesting each time you watch it. It has been criticised for it's saccharine sentimentality but that fits with the story that is trying to be told here. It's overtly a postmodern Pinnochio tale (indeed the Pinnochio analogy is a consistent theme that drives the story) with added dark themes about a futuristic bigotry and the moral dilemmas that mankind has about what is 'real', what is 'human' and our obligations to other life. In the future the icecaps have melted due to climate change and humanity has been pushed into smaller land mass and population control measures introduced. But technology has advanced especially in relation to robots, here referred to as 'mechas'. Along with increasingly humanlike advances in the development of mechas there is also a growing hatred of them by the less wealthy. One company develops a robot child designed to help parents who have lost children and it's so advanced it can imprint onto a human and show love. A young couple, with a son in a coma, are given a prototype named David (Haley Joel Osment) but the dedication the robot shows towards his new 'mother' becomes so stifling that they abandon it in a forest. However David's programming means he is determined to return home and gets the help of robot gigolo, Joe (Jude Law). There's some great visions of a future where hedonism remains rife and some dark aspects of a postmodern racism towards robots led here by Brendan Gleeson that asks big moral questions ultimately delving into the philosophical debate that specifies 'I think, therefore I am'. This is not Speilberg's best film but it's an ambitious and intelligent one and the interesting coda to the story has been much debated. If you've not seen this then it is definitely a film to see, you may need a hanky or two though!