‘Klara and the Sun’ Review: There’s No Life — Intelligent, Artificial or Otherwise — in Taika Waititi’s Calamitous Android Fantasy

Taika Waititi’s film adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s *Klara and the Sun* has drawn a sharply negative review, with the critic arguing that its whimsical comedy clashes with the novel’s melancholy exploration of android consciousness. The review says Jenna Ortega tries to bring warmth to Klara, an artificial companion, but the film’s tone leaves the story feeling lifeless and poorly suited to both adult and younger audiences.

The story is set in a future after a Third World War, where the internet has collapsed and wealthy families buy artificial friends for isolated children. Ortega plays Klara, a solar-powered android who is bought after teen Josie, played by Mia Tharia, sees her in a shop managed by Natasha Lyonne. The film premiered in London and is due to open in cinemas on 23 October; Ishiguro’s 2021 novel was previously compared in the review to his earlier book *Never Let Me Go*.