Klara and the Sun

On paper, Taika Waititi seems like a reasonable fit for Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 sci-fi novel. Set in a bleak future, the story is told through the eyes of Klara, a robot, who learns about the mysteries of being human by living with a troubled family. An innocent trying to make sense of a dark world is not a million miles from the plot of Waititi’s Oscar-winning Jojo Rabbit. Sadly, it proves a poor match, the filmmaker’s broad strokes smearing the subtleties of the book. 

Jenna Ortega is Klara, an ‘artificial friend’. These machines have been created to provide companionship to children, who have limited socialisation in a world where most things are automated. Klara is an outdated model, in little demand, so spends her days gathering dust in an old shop, contemplating the sun, which she views as a god, giver of life (Klara is solar-powered). When she’s finally chosen by Josie (Mia Tharia), a teen who lives in a pretty, remote house with her frosty mother, Chrissie (Amy Adams), Klara thinks a life of delight lies ahead. But she learns that Josie is very ill, nobody else in the house wants her, and life with humans is not all wonder. She vows to make Josie better, with help from the great and powerful Sun.

Waititi’s broad strokes smear the subtleties of the book

Waititi, who also wrote the script with Dahvi Waller (Mrs. America), can’t settle on a tone, leading to a messy mix of silly, childish jokes and undernourished drama. Much of the first half of the movie has Klara making a hash of behaving like a human, struggling to walk up stairs, botching social interactions and being overwhelmed by the sight of a wheat field. It’s not really funny, nor revealing, and when Waititi tries to pivot to something more complex and meaningful, it feels empty and forced, because we’ve learned so little of these people..

In the novel, Ishiguro presents lots of ideas about the relationship between humans and artificial intelligence, and what it means to be alive – themes that could hardly be more timely. Waititi doesn’t grapple with that to any significant degree. Klara is fascinated by what makes people tick. Waititi appears less intrigued. 

In cinemas worldwide Fri Oct 23