On October 22, one of the most anticipated film adaptations of the year premieres worldwide — “Klara and the Sun,” based on the best-selling novel by Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. Here’s why this film is a must-see.
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Plot
Klara (Jenna Ortega) is an extraordinary girl: she is a robot, an artificial friend, created to alleviate the loneliness of those she lives with. Klara is an older model robot, and her chances of finding an owner are slim. One day, while on display in a store window, she is chosen by a girl named Josie (Mia Tharia), and a special connection immediately forms between them. Josie has a strained relationship with her mother (Amy Adams), and their family is haunted by the pain of loss. But Klara’s sincerity, curiosity, and boundless devotion gradually help heal the family’s wounds and fill Josie’s world with hope and light.
About Kazuo Ishiguro’s Novel
The film is based on the best-selling novel “Klara and the Sun,” a dystopian work by British author and Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro. The novel is set in an unspecified future in the United States. The book immerses us in the world of a unique heroine—a robot girl whose mission is to bring happiness to children who, despite having families, feel lonely. It is an exquisitely tender yet impeccably restrained story about life in a world dominated by high technology, a new class system, and where genetic editing is commonplace.
“Klara and the Sun” was released in 2021, appeared on The New York Times best-seller list, and was longlisted for the Booker Prize. In the book, Ishiguro continues themes he explored in other works, notably in “Never Let Me Go” (2005), which tells the story of 20th-century England, where people are cloned to create living organ donors for transplantation. Is there anything truly unique about us that cannot be replicated? What can one human being offer another? Why do we feel isolated amidst others?
Indeed, The Guardian, in its review, states that “Klara and the Sun” is a book about what it means to be human: “The novel is set in a speculative future that feels very much like the present. Ishiguro writes about a subtle moral shift: the progress in technology that has altered people’s understanding of what it means to be human. The novel compels the reader to repeatedly ask questions and seek answers, as its philosophical depth quietly seeps in. ‘Klara and the Sun’ is a book about what it means to be human. The fact that Ishiguro can make such vast issues so tangible and so simple is just one reason why he was awarded the Nobel Prize.”
Director
Work on the film adaptation began in 2020, and in 2023, it was announced that Oscar winner Taika Waititi (“Jojo Rabbit,” “Thor: Love and Thunder”) would be directing. Waititi, born in New Zealand to a Jewish mother and a Māori father, is known for his bold, ironic style and interest in social themes. His most famous film, the dramedy “Jojo Rabbit,” about a boy named Johannes living in Germany during World War II who invents an imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, earned the director an Oscar.
Cast
The film features a star-studded cast. The main role of the robot girl is played by 23-year-old Jenna Ortega, the star of the series “Wednesday,” who already demonstrates her signature detachment and quirkiness in the trailer. The role of the mother, into whose family Klara is placed, is played by Amy Adams, and the part of her daughter Josie is portrayed by Mia Tharia (“The Education of Jane Cumming,” the series “The Listeners”).
We will see this dramatic story about friendship, loneliness, and what it means to be human on screen on October 22.