“A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001)
Can an android really love? The jury is still out on this question, but after watching “A.I. Artificial Intelligence,” they can certainly make you cry. Steven Spielberg’s futuristic fairy tale stars Haley Joel Osment as David, a childlike “Mecha” android created as an experiment to test if robots can experience genuine love for their masters. The experiment works a little too well: David develops an intense attachment to his master Monica (Frances O’Connor), but after a series of misunderstandings, is cast aside by her, and goes on a desperate quest to become a real boy and earn her love again. Osment’s wide-eyed, innocent performance results in a truly devastating film about the very nature of humanity, and what it really means to love somebody. —WC