My first introduction to the work of Nobel laureate Kazuo Ishiguro came during my university days, when a friend gave me a copy of The Remains of the Day, remarking that it was her favorite novel. It, admittedly, gathered dust for years on my bookshelf, until a few years ago when I made friends with another writer who could not stop talking about the author. Soon after, Klara and the Sun was published, and I saw it everywhere. It was a sign. I quickly devoured both, in addition to Never Let Me Go, and this year read The Unconsoled. Klara, however, remained my favorite. Needless to say, I've been following the Taika Waititi film adaptation for most of the year, with equal parts anticipation and trepidation. Now, just as it's finally hitting theaters, it's getting panned by critics. Despite its measly 29 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes, though, I was delighted after catching an early screening of the film.
Critics Gave 'Klara and the Sun' a Paltry 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, But I Vehemently Disagree
A sunny adaptation befitting the titular character
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The plot centers around the eponymous Klara (Jenna Ortega), an Artificial Friend (AF) existing in a dystopian society where, following World War III, there is no internet. Children and young people are isolated and lack social skills, so parents with means purchase AFs to be their companions. Klara is an unusually observant AF who worships the sun; seeing as the robots are solar-powered, it is regarded as a life-giving entity. An older B1 model competing with humorously Calvin Klein-esque B3s (the latest iteration), Klara's hope of finding a home is diminishing, until Josie Arthur (Mia Tharia), a young girl with a serious illness, convinces her forbidding mother, Chrissie (Amy Adams), to purchase Klara.
Once settled into the Arthur's sprawling prairie home, Klara learns the extent of the family's tragedies and becomes determined to find a way to heal Josie, ultimately making a bargain with the sun in exchange for Josie's life. Meanwhile, Chrissie has schemes of her own that are far more sinister than Klara's pilgrimages to the sun's "house," a barn at the end of the wheat field where it sets every night.
I've never seen a Taika Waititi film before (only the Hulu series Interior Chinatown, which he executive produced and directed the pilot) but based on that, and the corroboration of the friend with whom I saw the film, Klara and the Sun felt true to his style. It is incredibly quirky, but, in a way that I believe preserves both the spirit of Ishiguro's novel and Klara's character.
I was surprised that The Daily Beast so brazenly proclaimed the film to be a "superficial hodgepodge of familiar bric-a-brac," going on to conclude that Waititi had no interest in larger themes of identity, loss, belief or love. Sure, they could have been explored more (with the help of Josie's father and Rick's mother, both of whom were cut from the script), but after reading the book twice, I can't say Ishiguro illuminated these subjects any more than the director did. Ishiguro is rather vague in his writing, leading the reader to their own conclusions. In fact, I found some of the points more blatantly explained in the film helpful.
In today's film landscape, Waititi was fairly economical vis-à-vis run time, coming in at just under two hours. There was so much to pack in, but I think he hit on the two most prominent themes of the book: What makes us human, and the lengths we should go for friendship.
The latter theme, I find, is especially pertinent right now, amid the loneliness epidemic and all. We exist in a culture that loves to cancel plans last minute and is desperate to avoid all of life's inconveniences, including in relationships. But Klara, with her unwavering—and very much naïve—loyalty, made me question just how far I would, should and could go for people I love, even if they don't quite love back in equal measure.
Klara and the Sun is in theaters October 23.
