Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'A.I. Tales'

WRITTEN BY JOHN EDWARD BETANCOURT

​There was a time, not too long ago, where anthology storytelling ruled the creative marketplace. It didn’t matter if it was television, film, or even printed books, you’d find short story collections or shows and films that offered up a variety of vignettes that told all kinds of brief but powerful stories and well, one day it seems that market simply dried up. The shows went off the air, movies shifted to a new market and the only short story complications I could find for a time, were from the master himself, Stephen King.
 
But, everything old is always new again, and it seems that anthology storytelling is slowly making a comeback since I’m suddenly seeing this genre pop up everywhere as of late or I’m hearing about upcoming anthologies that are currently in development for television and film and recently, I had the opportunity to settle in an enjoy a sci-fi film that fits the anthology resurgence to a tee, since it features four unique and fascinating tales that are loosely tied to the notion of artificial intelligence in A.I. Tales.
 
Now, I use the word ‘loosely’ because in all honesty, only two of the stores in this collection truly lock on to the whole A.I. theme that the title implies, and I want to mention that first so that you don’t feel duped as a viewer if you decide to give this anthology a look. But make no mistake about it, this collection of stories offers up some powerful vignettes for certain because every last one of them captivated me through and through with their intriguing themes and fascinating concepts.  

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Take for example the first two stories in the film, Seed and In/Finite which oddly enough focus more on the human condition and how technology can help mankind since one man must make use of A.I. in order to provide a better future for his family, and technology also gives our heroine in the second tale a different kind of salvation by giving her soul the freedom it needs. And it is the humanity on display in these stories that makes them so impressive as the characters struggle with some seriously difficult life choices that technology will help them with somehow and really, it makes for a pair of powerful and moving stories when all is said and done.
 
If anything, those two vignettes are complimented nicely by the pair of darker stories that follow in Phoenix 9 and Redux since these two particular tales feature end of the world scenarios (one global and one personal), that also involve incredibly hard choices for the respective characters, but in this case, without technology, the characters in question will surely suffer and the aforementioned Phoenix 9 was hands down the darkest story of all since it featured some chilling visuals and equally ugly decisions whereas Redux offered up a harrowing but hopeful scenario.
 
Now, if those plot summaries seem a touch thin and vague, there’s a reason for that; it’s best you simply see them in action and experience their power first hand. Because they definitely give you pause and leave you thinking, as good science fiction is wont to do, and I really enjoyed this collection because of how thoughtful and layered these stories turned out to be, and for those reasons, this is a film that I highly recommend. Because there’s no gimmicks to be found here, just good storytelling, the kind that speaks to how closely mankind and technology are tied together and rely upon one another and this is one that I may need to watch again, to properly appreciate all the nuances that this collection has to offer.

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