Whether it's kids dancing in the midst of tragedy or the discovery of the God of Thunder’s comedic skills, Waititi can find a laugh anywhere. Maybe it’s a sign of a more jaded world or a less capable film, but with Klara and the Sun, I found myself wishing for restraint. Don’t make the obvious joke; don’t encourage another weird face-off between actors.
A dramatic scene depicting a robot’s devotion to humanity would land better if we could sit with it without a giggle break. Klara and the Sun has plenty of drama and heartbreak, and almost every moment is intercut with a juvenile joke that reassures us it’s not that serious, even if, per the film’s own subject matter, it should be. I left the theater teary-eyed and annoyed, kind of moved by a film that never stopped getting in its own way.
Based on the novel by Nobel Prize winner Kazuo Ishiguro, the film follows Klara (Jenna Ortega), an Artificial Friend (AF). The story takes place in a near-future dystopia, a polluted and overpopulated world where kids undergo medical procedures to become smarter, and humans have built AI robots to keep them company. Klara lives in a bot shop with the shopkeeper (Natasha Lyonne) and other AFs, all anxiously waiting for someone to buy them.
The bots recharge with the sun and spend their days modeling in the shop window, enticing possible buyers. They pretend to shop or ski, living mannequins with an innocent approach to the world. If purchased, the bots will avoid the worst fate they can think of: being scrapped for parts and retooled into the next generation of tech.
Their dream is to fulfill their purpose of companionship and retire to the Yard, the place where obsolete robots can relax and be happy. One day, Josie (Mia Tharia) spots Klara in the shop window and is charmed. The two look at each other and click.
She ends up taking Klara home despite the reluctance of her mother, Chrissie (Amy Adams), who was hoping to get her daughter a newer model that could do more tasks. From there, the film is a coming-of-age story, with Klara adapting to her new home, a remote farmhouse in a striking yellow field of wheat. She tries to make a good impression on Chrissie and Melania (Rachel House), the housekeeper, with both periodically threatening to put Klara back in her box and return her to the shop.
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