A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Set in a 22nd century post apocalyptic world, a child android (Haley Joel Osment) with the ability to feel love is given to a couple (Frances O'Connor, Sam Robards)  whose real child (Jake Thomas) is in a state of suspended animation until a cure is found for his rare disease. Wary at first, eventually his "mommy" accepts him. But when the real child returns home, things change. Based on the short story SUPERTOYS LAST ALL SUMMER by Brian Aldiss and directed by Steven Spielberg, who took the project over after Stanley Kubrick's (who had been trying to make a movie of it since the 1970s) death. A reimagining of the PINOCCHIO fairy tale, one can only wonder how it would have emerged under Kubrick's direction. Somewhat less sentimental no doubt and darker but what Spielberg has achieved still has a complex duality. What portions of the film were Kubrick's and what are Spielberg's have been subject to debate since the movie's release. All that aside, I found the film (mostly) an absorbing sci-fi touching on the irony of mankind's loss of humanity in the future while its robots are made gifts of it. Not Spielberg's best but a deserving entry in his filmography. The underscore is another excellent contribution by John Williams. With Jude Law (very good as an android male prostitute), William Hurt, Brendan Gleeson, April Grace and the voice talents of Meryl Streep, Robin Williams, Chris Rock and Ben Kingsley.