Taika Waititi‘s “Klara and the Sun” casts Jenna Ortega as Klara, an outdated Artificial Friend whose sell-by date is closing in until a teenager named Josie (Mia Tharia) and her mother (Amy Adams) take her home.
The film adapts Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, set in a technologically advanced future that one character traces back to a third world war triggered by the abuse of the internet. Klara is built to prevent loneliness, runs on quirks and hope, and believes the sun can heal. Those traits get put to work inside a household shadowed by grief and mystery.
“It felt like a very timely story,” Ortega said at the world premiere at the London Film Festival on October 15. “To see it put in a futuristic world and see that we still struggle with the same things and the answer’s kind of always in one another and listening to one another, I thought it was a really nuanced, thoughtful way of putting it.”
Waititi, who directed, co-wrote and produced, described Klara as “a machine who comes into the world of a broken family and somehow teaches them the importance of being human.”
He called the timing deliberate. “It’s vital right now because we’re now in a moment where we’re maybe on the cusp of losing control of our relationship with technology,” he said, adding that he wanted the film to remind people to put their devices down and “just be with the people you’re with.”
Known for his comedy, Waititi said he kept the book’s weight intact. “There’s some funny bits there, but it’s probably my most dramatic film,” he said.
The cast also includes Natasha Lyonne, Steve Buscemi, Aran Murphy and Rachel House. “Klara and the Sun” opens globally on October 21.
