Small Wonder: A.I.

Carlo Lorenzini's Pinocchio told us that a wooden puppet with a good heart can become a real boy. Spielberg's A.I. preaches that a robot can be the most human thing left on Earth if it only sticks around for 2,000 years.

Although A.I., Spielberg's first direction since Saving Private Ryan in 1998, can be very moving at times, it is by no means another polished Spielberg-ian story. It is disjointed, dragged out, claustrophobic -- marks of Stanley Kubrick, who collaborated with Spielberg to create A.I.'s concept before his death. A.I. spans 145 minutes that feel like four hours. The futuristic world is not as fantastic as we'd expect from Spielberg, maybe because it's set in New Jersey. But A.I. asks great questions: What happens when a child isn't loved? Can robots love? Can robots become human? What is being human?

In a globally warmed world, natural resources are scarce and childbearing is kept on the DL. Dr. Allen Hobby creates a child robot named David who can love his parents eternally, and somewhat disturbingly. David, misunderstood and feared, is abandoned by his adopted mother. He goes in search for a blue fairy that can make him a real boy and regain his mother's love (yes, it is as Freudian as it sounds). He's hunted down by people who want to kill human-wannabes in a celebration of "life" and "humanity." David's quest to follow his dreams against odds leads him to "The End of the World" -- a flooded Manhattan, Pinocchio's whale in Spielberg's vision.

Spielberg takes the fairy out of the fairy tale and replaces it with something slightly more realistic: David gets frozen in ice for 2,000 years. The fairy turns out to be technology and what 2,000 years can do. Yes, it is as nonsensically played out in the movie as it sounds here, and A.I.'s downfall is trying to answer all the questions it raises instead of merely provoking thought. But the conclusion is at the center of Spielberg's vision, and even if you don't believe in growing noses, you can't dismiss Pinocchio because of fairies. Spielberg makes you swallow even rougher edges, but keep A.I.'s questions in mind and it can be thought-provoking.