A.I. Artificial Intelligence is the best film ever
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Once upon a time there was a kid who recently got a new fascination with a certain filmmaker who's name is Steven Spielberg. That kid was from a poor family that didn't have any money. Yet his mother was able to get herself a laptop, which meant that perhaps somehow through that laptop that kid could continue be fascinated with the films of that filmmaker.
One day the kid decided to revisit a nightmare that he once experienced. A film that he saw glimpses of when being much younger. Yet a film with story so depressive and the world so destroyed, that it was impossibly scary to sit through the whole movie at once. Now the kid learned that this film was made by that same filmmaker he was fascinated by, which brought him the courage and curiosity to actually sit through that film once again. This time properly. To watch it from the beginning till the end with no distractions, with no pauses.
Yet obtaining a copy wasn't possible. Which did not stop the kid, obviously. There was no internet in the house, but kid being a kid, was rather clever of a hacker. If he took his hand just a little outside of the window and held the laptop that his mother bough right there, he could barely connect to the free Wifi from the pharmacy that was a few blocks away. The connection wasn't very good. But with a bit of patience it was usable.
In the morning of that day the kid decided that he will find a copy of that film. A copy of A.I. Artificial Intelligence by Steven Spielberg and will fully download it before watching. So that there will not be a single buffering. A single distraction. A single pause. The hand was extended. The search was done. The file was found. It was an .avi file with 480p resolution. Not the best quality. But much better than what this connection could play without downloading. The file was not large, by today's standards. But the kid had to hold his hand extended out of the window, with a laptop in it for the whole day to get the file down. There was no possibility to pause and resume. If the connection would be lost. The downloading would need to be started again.
The day was over. It was now night. And the kid ( with a company of his brother ) took the computer finally inside. Put it comfortably on a table. And prepared to watch the movie.
Spielberg is a phenomenal director. This film is not an exception. Yet it is surprisingly not Spielbergian. The project originally belonged to Stanley Kubrick, but since his death in 1999 his family finally persuaded Spielberg to finish the project up. So Spielberg tried to imitate the style of Kubrick. Making the film a lot calmer and a lot more static than what Spielberg would have done in a completely Spielbergian film. Yet sometimes it seems he could not hold himself from being himself. Like in the scene where David played phenomenally by Haley Joel Osment is stealing an Amphibo-copter.
Speaking of performances, what is this with Spielberg and Oscar-worthy child performances? Just Osment alone is worth talking about for hours. How he transforms from this mechanical thing to a completely real boy throughout the film is just incredible. Some scenes he cries without tears because he is a robot, yet in the other he cries with tears because he is finally a real boy. How he doesn't blink. How he has small robot-like gestures that are subtle enough yet sell the idea that he is a robot.
Then there is Martin played by Jake Thomas which is absolutely incredible. Like I believe every single frame of this kid on screen. Theo Greenly who plays this kid on the birthday that triggers David in a way that I wont spoil. Absolutely amazing. Hell even Hunter King not to be confused with her sister of Joey King who was like 7 when the movie was made killed it with her performance.
And those were only the children. Now, talking about adults, I don't know how awkward it must have been for Jude Law to play the part that he played, sharing the shot with Osment pretty much the entire movie. It is truly a genius move from Kubrick to invent this character as a Gigolo. It makes the whole thing so silly that you can't not love it.
I don't understand how Hollywood didn't grab with both hand Frances O'Connor who showed an incredible depth and portrayed this traumatized mother with cognitive dissonance really well. Hell I can list every actor in this film and praise them all: Sam Robards - good stuff. William Hurt - awesome. Brendan Gleeson - phenomenal. Even those that just did the voices are so good that they can inspire voice-actors: Robin Williams, Sir Ben Kingsley, Meryl Streep, Chris Rock... I will never stop.
The music! Oh my god! John Williams made his magnum opus in this movie. There are atmospheric soundscapes, emotional operas, experimental minimalist rhythmic symphonies, even some pop-beat stuff. The movie even has a part where it is all heavy metal. Though I doubt that this stuff was written by Williams. I often put the calmer stuff from the soundtrack of this film to breathe myself into relaxing. The music has a very therapeutic breathable effect that is hard to replicate. Maybe only James Horner work on Titanic comes close to this.
Anyway... The movie moves from one big stroke to another. From one very complex setting. To another. From one set piece of an emotional roller-coaster to the next. Almost climaxing in the end. Yet both Kubrick and eventually Spielberg decide to add something extra. Something that I see people dislike for some unimaginable reason. Yet something that is essential.
The movie is already set in future. And not a near one. It is at least a century, maybe multiple centuries away from when we are now. But then in the end, the film cuts to yet another two thousand years onward.
This moment made the kid had his jaw dropped. Sitting there in the room with his brother in front of his laptop, overwhelmed with wander and sadness. The shot is majestic. The camera is flying through the frozen world of the future, following someone or something that doesn't resemble anything that we know.
The shot is so majestic is squeezes a tear in that kid. But Spielberg is not done yet. He delivers one of the most emotionally charged endings of all time. Breaking through to that kid, making him sob uncontrollably. The tears poor now non-stop. And long after the movie ends the kid still cries. Hearing from his brother ( who didn't get so emotional for some reason ) something along the lines of "A genius movie".
This was the first time I've ever cried from a film. And that experience made me addicted, both to Steven Spielberg and A.I. and also to watching films seriously. Taking in what the directors is trying to do. Letting the film overwhelm you. Letting it break you. And perhaps it made me a better filmmaker myself.
Happy Hacking!!!
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