Directed by Taika Waititi and based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun is set in a dystopian future where technological advances in genetic engineering have divided humans into strict, isolated social classes. An obsolete companion android named Klara (Jenna Ortega) tries to bond with Josie (Mia Tharia), a sick girl for whom she was purchased.
Taika Waititi is one of my favorite directors whose works have always had a special place in my heart, whether they have made me bust a gut laughing or pull right at my heartstrings with deeply emotional moments and themes. Lately, some critics and people have seemingly turned their backs on Taika after the mixed reception of his two previous films Thor: Love and Thunder and Next Goal Wins, but I have no shame in admitting that I personally enjoyed both of those films and I still believe he’s a very talented director. So whenever he has a new project coming up I will always find myself being there for it, which brings us to this film that I got the chance to see at an early screening. I remember seeing a few reviews of this film from its screening at the BFI London Film Festival absolutely hating on it, yet I ended up absolutely loving it.
Klara and the Sun is a heartfelt and hilarious dystopian sci-fi story that ends up being one of the most touching and wholesome films that I have seen this year. Instead of being an action-packed sci-fi fantasy blockbuster like the Thor films, Taika adapts a simple story that is a quiet, meditative exploration of artificial intelligence, friendship, love, loneliness, grief, hope, and what it truly means to be human. While it doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel in terms of some of the themes it explores, it was still a beautiful story that emotionally hits hard in unexpected ways, similar to some of Taika’s earlier works like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Jojo Rabbit. Critics may choose to hate it but I defy what they say and choose to love it, and I have a feeling it will end up being an unexpected gem that audiences will like or love, much like mine did at the early screening.
This film has a relatively small cast similar to Taika’s earliest films, but each cast member delivers fully committed performances full of great humor and even greater heart. Stealing the film entirely as the titular character Klara is Jenna Ortega, who finally breaks out of her streak of dark and mature roles to deliver a much more lighthearted character that was absolutely lovable from start to end. Ortega perfectly captures the adventurous spirit and childlike innocence of this artificial intelligence, delivering a ton of laughs but also genuine moments of heartfelt warmth and kindness that make her the purest soul in this film. I have always considered Jenna Ortega to be a very talented actress who was unfortunately getting typecast for so many similar roles, so it was extremely refreshing to see her do so something new and show off more of her range, especially when it comes to physical comedy.
Also delivering a heartfelt performance full of various emotions and sharing amazing chemistry with Jenna Ortega is Mia Tharia as Josie, Klara’s new companion and first real human friend. Josie belongs to a society where children are genetically engineered, or “lifted” as they call it in the film, to enhance their intelligence and academic prospects, a process that has left her physically weak and prone to chronic illness. This is what drives Klara to save her life not just for the fact that Josie chose to adopt her amongst all the androids, but also because of the genuine friendship the two have formed over the course of the film that’s simple in its form but is wholesome and sweet. Mia Tharia is a relatively new actress for me, so I wasn’t sure what to expect from her compared to the more experienced cast members of this film, but she ended up really standing out with her heartfelt and heartbreaking performance as this character who’s endured a lot of tragedy in her life at a young age.
Delivering a surprisingly strong supporting performance in this film is Amy Adams as Chrissie, Josie’s protective and grief-stricken mother. She carries heavy trauma from a past incident in her life and wrestles with intense guilt over choosing to “lift” Josie as a way to avoid further grief, but ended up causing severe damage to Josie’s health. This overwhelming feeling of trauma and guilt causes her not only to not be there much for her daughter but also be extremely hateful towards Klara at first, not seeing the point of her being there other than as a gift for Josie upon her request. However, Klara’s kindness and empathy end up greatly changing Chrissie to help her overcome her trauma and guilt and be there more for her daughter rather than away. She is a complex character that is given a lot of beautiful and raw emotion by Amy Adams, who continues to prove why she is a highly award-nominated actress.
The rest of the supporting cast also deliver some strong performances full of heart and humor, even in short doses, with the most notable among them being Rachel House as Melania, Chrissie’s housekeeper, and Natasha Lyonne as “Store Manager”, the previous owner of Klara who sells her to Josie.
The narrative on the surface may appear to be a simple coming-of-age story about an artificial intelligence finding family and seeking connection in a dystopian setting, but it ends up being much more than that, with its multiple deep themes interwoven within it that pack a strong philosophical and heartfelt punch. Similar to Taika’s previous films like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Jojo Rabbit, the film starts off being really funny before hitting you with deeply emotional moments that really work thanks to some really strong writing and layered themes presented through the characters. This is not a traditional coming-of-age story in the human sense but rather a story that questions whether human qualities—like love, fear, empathy, and sacrifice—can ever be replicated, understood, or even learned by a machine.
We have seen many stories of AIs trying to find humanity within themselves, but this one takes a unique approach with Klara, especially given her unique form of sentience that she first develops when it comes to her tender and almost religious faith in the Sun. Due to her system running on solar power, she believes the Sun to possess a special, life-giving ability and can provide miracles if she prays to it hard enough. Throughout the film, her faith drives her to want to experience love and warmth as well as to help the family that adopted her. Even the idea of how hope can manifest in times of severe illness and grief is explored through Klara’s journey with the family that is executed in a truly heartwarming manner.
Other themes this film explores are the costs and ethics of technological progress, shown through the lengths parents go to secure a competitive, elite future for their children at the cost of their health, as well as an exploration of the disposable nature of objects and people in this dystopian setting that draws some interesting parallels between how society discards out-of-date AI in a scrapyard and how it often treats the elderly. I would have liked to have seen further exploration of the sharp class divide between “lifted” and “unlifted” individuals that is discussed frequently in the film, as it would have been an interesting topic to cover through these characters. I also did find that the pacing does tend to drag in some places, and I do wish it was refined just a bit.
From a technical and visual perspective, this film is absolutely gorgeous to look at in every single frame thanks to amazing cinematography, sets, effects, and usage of beautiful colors that give this dystopian world a wondrous and whimsical look compared to the typical deprivation of bright colors in other dystopian films. The beautiful colors and natural sets, like the fields and forests, may make this dystopian future look bright and seemingly perfect on the outside, but it clearly hides the dark nature of it underneath.
Adding to the whimsical visuals is an equally whimsical score by composer Michael Giacchino. He is able to evoke beauty and wonder in his music for this film, injecting fun energy in some places and somber energy in others when it is appropriate.
I truly don’t understand why critics at the BFI London Film Festival seemed to hate this film because I ended up adoring it along with my screening audience. This is a warm and wholesome film that packs a lot of heart and humor in a balanced dosage that I think will hit hard for a lot of people, as it did for me. It may not be my favorite film from Taika Waititi’s filmography, but for me it’s a strong entry that deserves to be seen and not prejudged for numbers on a flawed aggregator site. Go see it yourself and make your own mind when it releases this week. I’m going to give Klara and the Sun an A = 97.
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