Taika Waititi's adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's Klara and the Sun had its world premiere at the BFI London Film Festival on Thursday. Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams and Natasha Lyonne walked the red carpet, and the first wave of reviews was almost uniformly hostile.
Sony Pictures releases the film on October 23. Waititi wrote the screenplay with Dahvi Waller from Ishiguro's 2021 novel, and the cast includes Mia Tharia as Josie, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi and Rachel House. Deadline lists the running time at 1 hour 56 minutes and a PG-13 rating.
Page Six reported that Florence Pugh, Rita Ora and Ishiguro himself joined the gala screening at the festival, now in its 70th edition. Rita Ora, Waititi's wife, arrived in a black lace gown with an oversized headpiece, the Daily Mail reported.
E! News published video of Ortega and Adams at the London photocall for the film.
Reviews published after the screening were harsh. The Guardian's critic called the film "a sentimental and laborious mess" and "unbearably mannered", writing that Waititi's version of Ishiguro's AI fable says nothing substantial about artificial intelligence, love or grief. Deadline's Damon Wise described it as "curiously flat" and said the director's usual ground between children's films and films for adults now feels like an "awkward no-man's land". The Independent headlined its review "yet another misfire for Jenna Ortega".
In the film's future, families buy "artificial friend" robots for their children. Ortega plays Klara, a solar-powered model who worships the sun and is bought as a companion for Josie, a 14-year-old who has been genetically "lifted" and is seriously ill. Amy Adams plays Josie's mother Chrissie, and Lyonne plays the manager of the robot store. Both reviews note that the internet has been wiped out by a third world war, and Deadline points to a dark turn once Klara leaves the shop.
Waititi's earlier films include Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Jojo Rabbit. Sony Pictures opens Klara and the Sun in cinemas on October 23.