Klara and the Sun Review
A little to say about a lot; Klara and the Sun just scratches the surface.
Spending even a short period of time scrolling social media, it is hard not to cower at the ungodly sight of hyperrealistic AI-generated dogs having a lick of steamed milk as it's poured into your morning coffee. The potential impacts of this technology that seems to be outpacing its creators as it hacks into government systems unfettered should indeed be taken seriously. Perhaps it makes sense then that the offbeat humour of Taiki Waititi might bring some accessibility to the big ethical dilemmas of our seemingly inevitable futures.
Klara (Jenna Ortega) is a quirky, outdated model of android designed to provide companionship to adolescents during their quirky and awkward years. On the precipice of being melted down for parts, she is chosen by the sickly Josie (Mia Tharia) to come home with her and her mother Chrissie (Amy Adams), who seems more interested in burying herself in work than childrearing. As a solar powered robot, Klara sees the sun as an omnipotent giver of all life and all things good. Through the lens of her naive programming, she sets about trying to bring the Sun’s healing goodness to her new fractured family, and learns more about humanity than most humans know along the way.
Waititi’s best work comes from instilling a trademark sarcastic humour into otherwise profound and often morbid topics, so it's small wonder that he was pegged to take on Kazuo Ishiguro’s work. The jokes sometimes land, and Ortega provides an innocent and entertaining performance throughout. This is complimented by an engaging portrayal of teen angst in Tharia’s Josie that well captures a current epidemic of loneliness. The joviality is well supported by a jaunty score from Michael Giacchino.
But under the surface of a seemingly lighthearted coming-of-age story, there are teases of much more profound commentary on a swathe of topics: friendship, innocence, guilt, privilege and grief to name a few. And that is all before Klara and the Sun even begins to consider the interplay between artificial intelligence and humanity. But just as one of these themes bubbles to the surface, it is frustratingly swept away in a stream of poking fun at the awkwardness of adolescents trying to find their place in the world.
