Klara and the Sun
- Opens
Overview: An Artificial Friend named Klara finds a deep bond with a troubled young girl, bringing light and hope to a grieving family through her unwavering devotion and innocent wonder.
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Summary / Coverage / Press for Klara and the Sun (2026)
Critical Consensus Summary: Klara and the Sun (2026)
Directed by Taika Waititi and starring Jenna Ortega as an Artificial Friend, Klara and the Sun—adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s novel—has debuted to generally unfavorable reviews, holding a Metascore of 26. While a few critics appreciated its imaginative visuals and tone, the vast majority panned the film as a sentimental and tonally misjudged adaptation that misses the philosophical depth of the source material.
Key Reviews & Outlets
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Dave Calhoun (Screen Daily) Offered a rare mixed-to-positive note, praising the film’s strong performances and imaginative visuals that create an engaging fairytale tone, though noting that expanding the story beyond Klara’s narrow perspective dilutes its impact.
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Patrick Cremona (Radio Times) Described the film as a jarring and messy creative mismatch that completely misses the mark.
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Clarisse Loughrey (The Independent) Felt the film traded Ishiguro’s deep exploration of fundamental human identity for a generic, downgraded story about the power of love and friendship.
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David Jenkins (Little White Lies) Panned the movie as a “garbled mess of half-cocked speculative sci-fi and sentimental platitudes.”
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Nick Schager (The Daily Beast) Called it a “wannabe-inspiring fable” weighed down by director Taika Waititi’s preternatural gift for noxious sentimentality.
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Tim Robey (The Telegraph) Characterized the film as excruciatingly misjudged, hard to take seriously, and potentially the most infantile release of the year.
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Peter Bradshaw (The Guardian) Dismissed it as “soft-centred sci-fi-lite” that awkwardly combines hollow humor with passive-aggressive sentimentality.
