Some sexbot films avoid discomfort with camp and a few laughs. Others confront the discomfort head-on and reveal the wrongfulness of sex toys – especially sentient animatronic sex toys programmed to never say “no.”
The Serbian sci-fi film “A.I. Rising” (2018) ducks either approach; sex is portrayed sensually. Director Lazar Bodroza keeps things from sliding into debasement with tasteful lighting and religious-edged choral music accompanying the intimate moments of man (Sebastian Cavazzra’s Milutin) and bob-haired bot (Stoya’s Nimani). Nevertheless, the film retains a residue of trashy robot smut.
(S)experimental programming
One of the more interesting choices is to show Milutin experimenting with different programming options, manipulating his robot lover to match his fetishes. What he really desires is a robot who can think for herself (and deletion of the rape scene from her hard drive).
“A.I. Rising” (2018)
Also known as: “Ederlezi Rising”
Director: Lazar Bodroza
Writer: Dimitrije Vojnov (based on a short story by Zoran Nešković)
Stars: Sebastian Cavazzra, Stoya, Marusa Majer, Kristi Besterman
So, to toggle partner-humanism, Milutin sabotages his mission, creating an emergency that grants him access to higher levels of programming flexibility. Some unintentional humor follows from Milutin’s exchange with the onboard computer as the ship goes into a tailspin:
Milutin: “What is the only chance for completion of this mission?”
Computer: “The only chance of completion is to manually thrust C engine up to 150%.”
Milutin (earnestly): “Only I can thrust.”
Ah-hem. Anyhow, Milutin gains advanced access, does his thrusting, and saves the ship. Next, he reboots his only companion on the long trip to Alpha Centauri. He “frees” her. Or (like Doc Frankenstein who made the creature a wife) he “creates” her. Or, more accurately, he “molds” her (like Professor Higgins in 1964’s “My Fair Lady”).
This, a little more than halfway through the film, is where things get interesting. Nimani emerges quite unfree; her programmed loyalty to Ederlezi very much intact. And she’s not pleased with her saboteur programmer partner. Not at all.
The cast
The credits list only four actors: the pair playing Milutin and Nimani plus the Ederlezi corporation supervisor who monitors the flight from afar and the voice of the onboard computer. Stoya is the stand-out, playing the part of a robot with depth.
Stoya has done work in the adult film industry, as many reviewers – somewhat breathlessly – repeat. She is also the author of “Philosophy, Pussycats & Porn” (2018), a collection of essays.
One might say “A.I. Rising” is the same old tale of boy meets girl, boy loses girl. It is. On one level, this is a beautifully lit, industrialized romance with the girl being a machine only insofar as her inconvenient battery recharges and hilarious dance moves.
The conflict
On another level, however, it is an intensely moral film. Nimani’s programming can be seen as a set of conditioned responses embedded in her software. Nimani has been instructed to complete Ederlezi’s mission. But there is more than one level of embedded themes in her operating system. Some are in conflict.
All robots in the world of the film are embedded with Isaac Asimov’s three laws: (1) A robot may not injure a human or, through inaction, allow a human to be harmed; (2) a robot must obey humans’ orders unless it would conflict with law No. 1; and (3) a robot must protect its own existence unless it would conflict with law No. 1 or 2.
It’s golden age sci-fi from the short story collection “I, Robot” (1950), but in the future of “A.I. Rising,” Asimov’s laws have become widely adopted programmed priorities. “A.I. Rising” contrasts Nimani’s corporate programmed goal (to complete the mission) with her moral framework (specifically, Asimov law No. 1, not to harm a human). She must pilot the ship towards success, but she must also take account of the suffering human onboard.
Milutin pines for her. But his needs conflict with those of the Ederlezi Corporation. The tension achieves a special resonance on account of Nimani’s created origins. Her suffering is linked with Milutin’s actions to “free” her, perhaps fetishist, perhaps selfless, we can’t be sure.
‘Cast Away’ … in space
Critics have of course compared “A.I. Rising” to “Ex Machina” (2015), but a more interesting comparison might be made to “Cast Away.” In that 2000 film, a FedEx worker is marooned on a desert island, living a solitary existence. His isolation is total.
Fairly early on, he befriends a volleyball and names it Wilson. He scrawls a face on it. Eventually, seeking freedom, he attempts to escape on a raft and in the process, is separated from the ball. Wilson floats out of his reach, which proves emotionally devastating.
In “A.I. Rising,” an astronaut is marooned alone on a spacecraft. His only companion is a robot co-pilot. His isolation is total. Fairly early on, he befriends (and rapes) the robot. Upon rebooting the robot to grant her freedom, and make her more human, she rejects him, which proves emotionally devastating.
It’s never clear what level of humanity Nimani achieves upon reboot. She has become more than what she was, but precisely what it is unclear. Whereas Wilson was always just a volleyball, with Nimani, we’re just not sure.
And it is a mature film indeed that can leave questions it poses unanswered without it seeming like a rip-off. “A.I. Rising” is no rip-off.