Klara and the Sun
Taika Waititi directs Klara and the Sun from a script he co-wrote with David Heyman, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro. While the film synopsis barely has any meat on the bone, the description for Ishiguro’s novel provides a decent outline of the story’s events:
“From her place in the store, Klara, an Artificial Friend with outstanding observational qualities, watches carefully the behaviour of those who come in to browse, and of those who pass in the street outside. She remains hopeful a customer will soon choose her, but when the possibility emerges that her circumstances may change forever, Klara is warned not to invest too much in the promises of humans.”
What are the first impressions?
Klara and the Sun has had its premiere at the London Film Festival. The first viewers of the film have gone to social media to share their early thoughts. So, what is the early buzz on the new Taika Waititi movie? Interestingly, the reviews have not been overly positive with a currently low metacritic score of 27. However, some of the reactions on social media are saying otherwise.
DawsOn… is raving about the film, saying, “KLARA AND THE SUN is a drastic return to form for Taika Waititi. Honing back to the mixture of comedy and heart that made his earlier work shine so bright. Jenna Ortega is great as the loveably clumsy AI robot, but the real standout is Mia Tharia who anchors this whole movie. While I’m not familiar with the source material, I am familiar with Never Let Me Go and this almost feels like a spiritual successor to both the book and film of that. While I wish Taika would go back to writing his own original stories, this is a lovely family film with an interesting creative vision I can’t see anyone not having a good time with #KlaraAndTheSun #LFF2026”
Reel Insight echoes the sentiment that it sees a return for Taika, as he says, “#KlaraAndTheSun marks a slight return to form for Taika Waititi. While not a perfect adaptation, Waititi uses his trademark quirky humour to explore human disconnection in an increasingly technological world. Elevated by a great physical comedy performance from Jenna Ortega. #LFF”
Adam Khan feels he may have liked the movie more than others (based on the critics’ consensus), saying, “Maybe I’m just in a good mood today… as I think I enjoyed #KlaraAndTheSun more than most – at the very least it’s Taika’s best film of the decade. It didn’t hit me in the feels like it should’ve (and wanted) but it was sweet… even if it feels very Disney+ Original Movie #LFF”
Klara and the Sun opens in theaters on Friday. Do you think the reviewers are just piling on it because it’s Taika Waititi? Let us know in the comments.
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed