“その愛は真実なのに その存在は、偽り”
地球温暖化が進んで一部の海に近い土地が沈み、妊娠・出産に厳しい許可制度がしかれ、人間の代わりに多くの資源を必要としないロボットが活躍する未来。その時代に人間と同じ愛情を持つ少年型ロボットとして開発されたデイビッドは、彼を製作したロボット製造会社の社員、ヘンリーとその妻モニカの元へ試験的に送られる。夫妻には不治の病を持つ息子のマーティンが居たが、現在は冷凍保存で眠っていて目覚める保証はなく、実質的に子供がいないのと同じだった。
製作費: $100,000,000 (150億円)
興行収入: $235,926,552 (354億円)
推定収支: $135,926,552 (204億円)
※製作費・興行収入はTMDBのデータを参照しています。収支は(興行収入 - 製作費)で算出したFindKey独自の推定値であり、広告宣伝費や諸経費は含まれません (1ドル=150円換算)。
FindKeyのエディトリアルチームがこの作品の深層や歴史を解説しています。
監督: スティーヴン・スピルバーグ
脚本: スティーヴン・スピルバーグ / Brian Aldiss / Ian Watson
音楽: ジョン・ウィリアムズ
制作: Bonnie Curtis / Jan Harlan / Walter F. Parkes
撮影監督: ヤヌス・カミンスキー
制作会社: Warner Bros. Pictures / DreamWorks Pictures / Amblin Entertainment / Stanley Kubrick Productions
I bought this on DVD many years ago, convinced I had never seen it. I finally got around to watching it, and it wasn’t until I reached the robot demolition circus (words I bet I have never seen in the same sentence before) that I realized I had watched this movie before. That is a memorable sequence. In many respects I thought the movie was well made: the special effects, the deep thinking behind the plot, and the writing was mostly good. It almost felt like it was covering too much ground, and I felt there were a few lapses. I will mention only one, and try not to give anything away. There is a pivotal scene where John Hurt’s character is with the AI child David. It took a lot of effort to get David there, so what does the guy do/ he leaves David alone and unchaperoned. And the end of the movie turns on that. Why would he wander off like that except to serve the plot? Still, the film, mirroring and projecting the story of Pinocchio into the future, was quite an achievement. I liked it, but not as much as a lot of other Spielberg efforts.
The movie was actually pretty good. The ending sucked to me though.
With their son "Martin" supposedly out for the count, "Henry" (Sam Robards) procures a solution for his wife "Monica" (Frances O'Connor) in the form of "David" (Haley Joel Osment). He is a state of the art android. Not robotic in function like previous models, but an adaptive model that can learn to love, to feel, to be... Initially very apprehensive, she gradually bonds with the curious and friendly young man just as readily as dad "Henry" starts not to. Then, re-enter "Martin" (Jake Thomas) who turns out to be a rather malevolent and jealous lad who, with his fellow human friends, contrives a scenario that results in "David" becoming abandoned with only his talking "Teddy" for company. Now "David" had learned of the famous "Blue Fairy" who could turn him into a real boy, so convinced that his mother would love him again, sets out to track it down at the end of the Earth. His adventures along the way are perilous, he meets some salvage hunters with an almost circus-like approach to recycling before alighting on "Gigolo Joe" (Jude Law). His name says it all, his job being to "pleasure" women who want something that bit special. The two share his quest as the latter is pursued by the authorities - but can "David" reach his holy grail? This is heavily based on the "Pinocchio" story and that gives it a solid, potent and dark bedrock for a story of wishing for the moon. Osment is super here as the vulnerable but determined and lost lad looking for a mother's love and affection. Law also reminds us why he was ever an A-lister with an almost Astaire-esque performance as the ostensible wastrel who has more substance to his character than we might expect. The last half hour takes it's time, that could do with being tightened up - but the whole gist of this story of being careful what you wish for is otherwise well balanced between the drama, the emotion, a bit of technology and some fun too. It takes a swipe at the temporary culture that has prevailed for generations and maybe just reminds us that if it seems to good to be true, then it almost certainly is. Looks great on a big screen and is Spielberg at his most sensitively imaginative.
