"The mind can make substance,/And people planets of its own with beings brighter than have been,/And give a breath to forms which outlive all flesh."--George Gordon, Lord Byron
The above quotation is what I found written on my calender the night I watched "A.I." for the first time on May the 30th. After I had watched the film, I turned the calender over to the new month to find that bit of Byron's verse waiting for me. I couldn't help but think to myself how appropriate a quotation it was in regards to the film's protagonist, David, and the film's grandfather and father, Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielburg, respectively.
I see very, very little of Spielburg in this movie, in spite of his having written the script (which, in fairness, was made from Ian Wilson's treatment for Kubrick and was in turn based on Brian Aldiss' "Supertoys Last All Summer". One of Spielburg's greatest acts of creative kindness is the onscreen credit of all script-related parties.). Though Kubrick didn't direct one frame of this film, it's through his worldview that I see this incredibly unique story that all GREAT science fiction is supposed to be about: the development of technology and how that technology affects the human race that created it.
In some ways, "A.I." almost harkens back to the technological subtext of "Blade Runner". That said, this world is a kinder, gentler dystopia than Ridley Scott's dark future, where the true problems of mankind simmer beneath a surface security and comfort. Humans have now managed to do miraculous things with their mechanical children, but their true nature hasn't really changed. The ugly parts of it are still crouching in the shadows, squirming for expression (which may have been the point of the "Flesh Fair" sequence, about which I will only say this slight spoiler: think the unplugging of HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey" with fireworks). By staying with David after his introduction into the film, I didn't just see this world, I FELT it in my gut. All the grandeur, the depravity, the ingenuity, the decadence, the highest hopes, and the dashed dreams came through with the same amount of force that it did to David.
I find it interesting that David, the most Spielburgian character in this film, was mostly developed by Kubrick and that supporting character Gigolo Joe, a Kubrickian entity if ever I saw one, was mainly developed by Spielburg from Kubrick's notes. To me, they are the most vital parts in the machinery of this film. Perhaps even more so than David's ongoing quest (about which, I will say nothing), their evolving relationship is the central core of about a third of the film. Each winds up learning something of value from the other, though those lessons do not seem to profit them by much.
While I am not a Kubrick fanatic, I have seen roughly half his films in the course of my life ("Paths of Glory", "Spartacus", "Dr. Strangelove", "A Clockwork Orange", "2001", "Full Metal Jacket"). Though hardly a prolific filmmaker, he was widely acknowledged by many, myself included, as one of the greatest. More than just a great film, "A.I." deserves to be remembered as a monument to this cinematic master, carved with loving and able care by a devoted and compentant friend...a monument that may very well "outlive all flesh".
The above quotation is what I found written on my calender the night I watched "A.I." for the first time on May the 30th. After I had watched the film, I turned the calender over to the new month to find that bit of Byron's verse waiting for me. I couldn't help but think to myself how appropriate a quotation it was in regards to the film's protagonist, David, and the film's grandfather and father, Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielburg, respectively.
I see very, very little of Spielburg in this movie, in spite of his having written the script (which, in fairness, was made from Ian Wilson's treatment for Kubrick and was in turn based on Brian Aldiss' "Supertoys Last All Summer". One of Spielburg's greatest acts of creative kindness is the onscreen credit of all script-related parties.). Though Kubrick didn't direct one frame of this film, it's through his worldview that I see this incredibly unique story that all GREAT science fiction is supposed to be about: the development of technology and how that technology affects the human race that created it.
In some ways, "A.I." almost harkens back to the technological subtext of "Blade Runner". That said, this world is a kinder, gentler dystopia than Ridley Scott's dark future, where the true problems of mankind simmer beneath a surface security and comfort. Humans have now managed to do miraculous things with their mechanical children, but their true nature hasn't really changed. The ugly parts of it are still crouching in the shadows, squirming for expression (which may have been the point of the "Flesh Fair" sequence, about which I will only say this slight spoiler: think the unplugging of HAL in "2001: A Space Odyssey" with fireworks). By staying with David after his introduction into the film, I didn't just see this world, I FELT it in my gut. All the grandeur, the depravity, the ingenuity, the decadence, the highest hopes, and the dashed dreams came through with the same amount of force that it did to David.
I find it interesting that David, the most Spielburgian character in this film, was mostly developed by Kubrick and that supporting character Gigolo Joe, a Kubrickian entity if ever I saw one, was mainly developed by Spielburg from Kubrick's notes. To me, they are the most vital parts in the machinery of this film. Perhaps even more so than David's ongoing quest (about which, I will say nothing), their evolving relationship is the central core of about a third of the film. Each winds up learning something of value from the other, though those lessons do not seem to profit them by much.
While I am not a Kubrick fanatic, I have seen roughly half his films in the course of my life ("Paths of Glory", "Spartacus", "Dr. Strangelove", "A Clockwork Orange", "2001", "Full Metal Jacket"). Though hardly a prolific filmmaker, he was widely acknowledged by many, myself included, as one of the greatest. More than just a great film, "A.I." deserves to be remembered as a monument to this cinematic master, carved with loving and able care by a devoted and compentant friend...a monument that may very well "outlive all flesh".