Klara and the Sun (3 1/2 stars out of 4)
It’s always risky to see a movie based on a book when you’ve actually read (and enjoyed) that book. Gratefully, in this case the risk pays off.
Based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, director Taika Waititi’s “Klara and the Sun” follows the story of an artificial human who is purchased to be a companion for a terminally ill young girl.
Klara (Jenna Ortega) is a model B3 Artificial Friend, a lifelike robot intended to offer a range of assistance to any child with parents presumably wealthy enough to afford one. We meet her among a group of other AF hopefuls who live in a downtown department store.
After a long period of waiting and occasionally occupying the prime spot in the store’s display window, Klara is finally purchased for a sickly teen named Josie (Mia Tharia). Josie takes to her new AF instantly, but her mother Chrissy (Amy Adams) is much more unsure of the arrangement. They live with a surly maid (Rachel House) far away from the city on a remote farm, and Klara loves the easy exposure to the sun, which she worships as a deity–in part because she’s solar-powered.
As Klara gets used to her new environment, we learn that Josie is sick because of complications from being “lifted”–a procedure privileged children undergo in order to enhance their DNA and ensure they become an elite member of society. Because of certain things she witnessed back at the store, and because she seems to have been gifted with a unique sense of observation, Klara determines to find a way to save her young friend.
Similar to his treatment of Nazi-era Germany with 2019’s “JoJo Rabbit,” Waititi filters Ishiguro’s ponderous future through a quirky and thoughtful filter, albeit to a lesser degree than with some of his other films. In this case, the humorous tone and characters–such as a humanoid scarecrow and a motley crew of other “lifted” children Josie meets at a party–offer a nice counterpoint to the ebbs and flows of the story, which explore the nature of the soul and the relationship between technology and the natural world.
Ortega anchors the film with an appealing, wide-eyed performance as Klara, and Adams’ veteran gravitas is a good choice for Chrissy. It’s also fun to see Rachel House–a consistent supporting actor in most all of Waititi’s films, and Steve Buscemi in another supporting role later in the film.
Fans of the book will notice a number of changes from the source text, mainly to zero in on the core story and streamline characters and subplots that might otherwise extend the run time. But overall Waititi does a good job of capturing the heart of Ishiguro’s story, and exploring its primary questions. And because of this alone, “Klara and the Sun” earns a spot among the better movies of 2026.
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“Klara and the Sun” is rated PG-13 for scattered profanity (including one use of the F-word) and some comic violence.