A.I. Artificial Intelligence

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Year: 2001

Runtime: 146 min

Language: English

Director: Steven Spielberg

Budget: $100M

AdventureSci-FiDrama

In the near future, the android David is created with the capacity to feel love. Raised by a Cybertronics executive and his wife, David develops into a remarkably realistic boy, experiencing childhood joys and sorrows. However, unforeseen circumstances jeopardize his existence, forcing him on a quest to find acceptance. Along the way, he explores the complex relationship between humans and machines and questions the very definition of being alive.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) – Spoiler-Free Movie Summary & Plot Overview

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In a near‑future world reshaped by rising seas and a dwindling human population, the line between flesh and circuitry blurs. Advanced humanoid machines, known as Mecha, have been created to imitate the deepest human emotions, and their existence raises unsettling questions about what it means to be alive. The atmosphere is a mix of melancholy wonder and quiet desperation, as society tries to cling to familiar comforts while confronting a stark, altered landscape.

David is the latest prototype—a child‑like android engineered to feel love and to bond with humans as a real son would. He is placed in the home of a powerful Cybertronics executive, Henry Swinton, and his wife, Monica, who initially view him with a blend of curiosity and apprehension. As David learns to navigate the simple pleasures and pains of childhood, his relationship with Monica deepens, echoing the tender, sometimes fragile connections that define family. Beside him is a loyal robotic companion, Teddy, whose silent presence offers both protection and comfort.

The film unfolds with a tone that balances poetic melancholy and quiet optimism, inviting viewers to contemplate the nature of love, identity, and belonging through the eyes of an artificial child yearning for acceptance. As David experiences the joys and uncertainties of his brief existence, the story hints at the larger societal tensions between humanity’s creations and its own fragile future, leaving the audience to wonder whether a machine can truly become part of the human heart.

Last Updated: August 10, 2025 at 11:42

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Melancholic Sci-Fi Fairy Tales like A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Philosophical journeys where artificial beings yearn for human connection.If you were moved by the poignant journey of David in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, explore more movies like it. This thread gathers similar sci-fi stories that are deeply emotional and philosophical, featuring artificial beings searching for purpose and love in dystopian or futuristic worlds.

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These narratives typically follow a protagonist—an android, clone, or other synthetic life—on an epic, often heartbreaking quest for identity and belonging. The journey is less about technological feats and more about an existential exploration of what it means to be 'real,' set against a backdrop that questions humanity's own flaws.

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Epic Quests for Belonging like in A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Heart-wrenching journeys driven by a deep need for love and acceptance.For viewers who connected with David's unwavering search for a mother's love in A.I. Artificial Intelligence, this section recommends similar movies about epic, emotionally heavy quests for belonging. These stories feature protagonists, often children or childlike figures, on arduous journeys to find their place in the world.

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The narrative pattern involves a protagonist, frequently isolated or abandoned, embarking on a long and perilous physical and emotional odyssey. The central conflict is their internal yearning versus an external world that is indifferent or hostile. The journey is the story, with each step highlighting their innocence, resilience, and the heavy emotional cost of their search.

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These films are united by their focus on the primal human need for connection. They share a heavy emotional weight, a melancholic or bittersweet tone, and a pacing that allows the journey to feel epic and transformative, making the audience deeply invest in the protagonist's ultimate goal.

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