To feel is to be…
A bleak futuristic tale that is so complexly Kubrickian that it is very hard to describe. The basic story tells the tale of an artificial boy (Osment) who is adopted by a young couple that recently lost their own ‘real’ child. We watch as they try to adjust to the boy and as he tries to adjust to them. The boy finds a desire to want to be more human, mimicking and learning everything he can. Eventually his parents abandon him and he dedicates everything he has to finding his mother.
Is it real love? Does he really feel? Is he just programmed to do what he does? Lots of questions are posed in this epic story, but whether they are answered is debatable.
I cannot decide which of the two endings I like. What do I mean? Well, there is a point, about thirty minutes before the film ends, where I thought the film was actually over… I was preparing to stand up and leave the theatre. It is actually a dummy ending. I think Spielberg put it in as a tribute to Stanley Kubrick, the man who pioneered the plight to get this film made. Spielberg took over after Kubrick’s death and I feel that he put this dummy ending in because he felt that is where Stanley Kubrick would have left it. The final thirty minutes are truly Spielberg’s… you will see what I mean. I am not sure which is better, but it sure makes for good debates and interesting arguments.
