Taika Waititi is a filmmaker with a very recognisable style. Whether working on something as unconventional as Jojo Rabbit or taking on a major Marvel production like Thor: Ragnarok, he has generally demonstrated a talent for combining humour, emotion and a certain sense of imagination. Unfortunately, that particular magic is surprisingly difficult to find in Klara and the Sun, his 2026 science-fiction drama starring Jenna Ortega.
Based on the bestselling novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, the film has an interesting premise, plenty of potential and some genuinely attractive visuals. Yet, despite all the ingredients being there, it never quite manages to turn its ideas into something particularly engaging or emotionally rewarding.
What should have been a warm, imaginative and thought-provoking story about artificial intelligence, friendship and what it means to be human ultimately feels rather shallow and strangely uninvolving.
An Interesting Science-Fiction Concept That Never Fully Works
Klara and the Sun takes place in a future where artificial humans, known as Artificial Friends, are designed to provide companionship. The story follows Klara (Jenna Ortega), an artificial friend who eventually finds herself living with Josie (Mia Tharia), a young girl dealing with personal difficulties and a complicated family situation.
There is certainly something interesting to explore here. The idea of artificial beings being created to provide emotional support raises plenty of questions about loneliness, human relationships and our growing dependence on technology.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest problems with Klara and the Sun is that its own concept never really comes together.
The film does very little to properly establish its world or explain why certain things exist in the first place. Why, for example, are human-like robots being used for tasks where there seems to be absolutely no need for a robot? Some of the film's ideas, including robots functioning as little more than shop mannequins or scarecrows, are particularly difficult to understand.
More importantly, the film never convincingly explains why people would benefit from having an artificial companion in the first place. It introduces a world in which these robots apparently serve an important purpose, but never does enough to make that world feel believable or fully realised.
A science-fiction film does not necessarily need to explain every little detail of its setting, but it should at least establish enough of its world for the audience to understand and accept its central ideas. That is something this film struggles with.
Taika Waititi Struggles to Find the Right Tone
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Klara and the Sun is how little of Taika Waititi's usual filmmaking personality seems to come through.
Waititi has always been a director and writer with a very clear identity. His films often have a certain warmth, playfulness and imaginative quality, even when dealing with fairly serious subject matter. That combination is a big part of what makes some of his previous work so enjoyable.
Here, however, he seems to struggle to find the right balance.
Klara and the Sun feels like a film that desperately needs a little more magic and imagination. Someone like Tim Burton might have been a particularly interesting choice for this material. His distinctive visual imagination and ability to create strange yet emotionally engaging worlds could potentially have given the story the personality it is missing.
That does not mean the film needed to become a completely different kind of movie, but it certainly could have benefited from a stronger sense of wonder and a more distinctive atmosphere.
Instead, the film often feels surprisingly ordinary given the possibilities of its premise.
A Surprisingly Shallow Story With Very Little Drama
Another major problem is the lack of any particularly engaging conflict.
There is no real villain, no especially compelling central confrontation and very little in the way of dramatic tension. The film mostly moves from one situation to another without ever developing a particularly strong narrative direction.
That would not necessarily be a problem if the film managed to compensate with interesting philosophical questions or genuinely meaningful character development.
Unfortunately, it does neither particularly well.
Considering the subject matter, it is genuinely surprising just how superficial Klara and the Sun manages to be. There are so many potentially fascinating themes to explore, from artificial intelligence and human consciousness to loneliness, emotional attachment and the meaning of humanity.
Yet the film rarely goes beyond briefly touching upon these subjects.
There is very little genuine depth to be found, and the emotional moments consequently struggle to have the impact they should. The film clearly wants its audience to become invested in its characters and their relationships, but it never quite does enough to make those emotions feel earned.
Jenna Ortega's Performance Never Quite Finds the Right Balance
Jenna Ortega is undoubtedly a talented actress, but I would not necessarily describe her performance in Klara and the Sun as one of her stronger efforts.
Part of the problem is that Klara is a rather difficult character to portray. As an artificial friend, she needs to feel somewhat robotic while also displaying enough humanity to make her emotional development believable.
Unfortunately, the performance never quite finds that balance.
At times, Ortega plays Klara almost too robotically, while in other scenes she seems considerably more human than the character's established behaviour would suggest.
One moment, Klara struggles to understand relatively simple everyday things, while the next she appears to have her own opinions, desires and an increasingly complex understanding of the world around her.
There is never a particularly convincing consistency in how the character thinks, behaves or responds to different situations.
This may not be entirely Ortega's fault, as the screenplay is ultimately responsible for establishing the character and giving the actress something coherent to work with. Nevertheless, the result is a central character who never feels entirely convincing.
The Relationship Between Klara and Josie Lacks Emotional Warmth
The relationship between Klara and Josie is ultimately supposed to be the emotional centre of the entire film.
It is through their friendship that the movie wants to explore its ideas about companionship, love and what it means to care for another person.
Unfortunately, this relationship never feels quite as warm or engaging as it needs to be.
There are moments where the film clearly wants us to feel the growing connection between these two characters, but the chemistry and emotional development simply never become strong enough.
As a result, their relationship feels oddly distant for something that should be at the very heart of the story.
It is difficult to become emotionally invested in a friendship when the film itself never manages to make that friendship feel particularly meaningful.
A Lack of Interesting Supporting Characters
Another missed opportunity is the relatively limited collection of characters surrounding Klara and Josie.
A story like this could have benefited enormously from having a few more interesting personalities to interact with. Characters who could provide some humour, different perspectives or simply make the world feel more alive.
Instead, much of the supporting cast feels underdeveloped, with several characters never receiving enough personality or screen time to become particularly memorable.
Even when the film introduces characters who could potentially add something interesting to the story, it rarely does enough with them.
This makes the world feel somewhat empty and contributes to the film's overall lack of energy.
Klara and the Sun Looks Good, But That Is Not Enough
One area where Klara and the Sun does manage to deliver is its presentation.
The film looks good, and it is clear that it was made by people who understand how to put a movie together. The cinematography, production design and overall visual presentation are all perfectly respectable.
There is a certain elegance to the way the film is presented, and it never really looks cheap or poorly made.
However, technical competence can only take a movie so far.
A film can look attractive and still fail to connect with its audience, and that is essentially what happens here. The visual presentation cannot compensate for the underdeveloped world, inconsistent characterisation and lack of emotional depth.
Final Verdict: Klara and the Sun Is a Disappointing Missed Opportunity
Klara and the Sun is one of those films where it is difficult not to think about what could have been.
The central concept has plenty of potential, the cast is certainly capable and Taika Waititi is a filmmaker who has previously demonstrated that he can bring considerable warmth and imagination to his projects.
Yet, for whatever reason, those elements never quite come together.
The world is insufficiently developed, the story lacks meaningful conflict and the themes remain surprisingly superficial. Jenna Ortega also struggles to find the right balance in her portrayal of Klara, while the relationship between her character and Josie never becomes emotionally engaging enough to carry the film.
There is a perfectly decent movie somewhere within this material, but the finished product never manages to bring it to the surface.
Klara and the Sun is not a complete disaster, and its visual presentation is certainly respectable. However, for a film dealing with such interesting ideas about artificial intelligence, friendship and humanity, it is surprisingly lacking in imagination, warmth and genuine emotional substance.
A disappointing adaptation that leaves you thinking more about its wasted potential than anything it actually accomplishes.
Rating: 5/10
