Taika Waititi’s Klara and the Sun arrives in theatres on October 23, 2026, through Sony Pictures. Adapted from Kazuo Ishiguro’s 2021 novel, the film stars Jenna Ortega as Klara, a solar-powered “artificial friend.” Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Steve Buscemi, Natasha Lyonne, Aran Murphy and Rachel House also feature in the cast. The film premiered at the London Film Festival after being absent from the September festival circuit.
Rated PG-13, the film has a runtime of 1 hour and 56 minutes. Early reviews have been largely negative. At the time of writing, Rotten Tomatoes listed a 29% Tomatometer score based on 14 reviews, with no audience score available. Critics writing for Deadline, Variety and IndieWire argue that Waititi’s comic sensibility does not suit the quiet sadness of Ishiguro’s story.
Set in a future where artificial companions are sold in shops, the film follows Klara as she waits in a store window and prays to the sun for a home. She is eventually chosen by Josie (Tharia), a sick teenager whose mother (Adams) agrees to buy her. As Klara settles into the family’s household, she discovers the extent of Josie’s illness and begins considering what she can do to help. Lyonne plays the store manager, while Buscemi portrays a man who holds the key to understanding Josie’s condition.
Damon Wise of Deadline, reviewing the film from London, describes it as a “curiously flat comedy-drama” that is only “sporadically funny.” He believes Waititi should be a natural fit for the material but argues that the film “just doesn’t deliver on any of the fronts it promises.” Wise compares it to Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go, another adaptation of literary science fiction that struggled to capture the subtleties of its source material. He also likens it to Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit “in the future.”
Wise appreciates the early scenes in the Friend Store, singling out Lyonne as “wonderful.” However, he believes the film loses its appeal once Klara leaves the shop and the story becomes “face-palmingly obvious.” He also identifies a scene in which Josie meets her schoolmates as an awkward low point that undermines the groundwork laid earlier in the film.
Guy Lodge of Variety is more critical, calling the film a “hopeless mismatch of filmmaker and source material.” He argues that Waititi’s “cutesy, kooky affectations” repeatedly clash with the “stoic sadness” of Ishiguro’s storytelling. According to Lodge, the comedy is at its broadest and least effective during the opening scenes in the store.
Lodge also criticises Michael Giacchino’s score, describing it as “overbearingly precious.” He argues that the screenplay, written by Waititi and Dahvi Waller, wanders into questions about artificial life that films such as Ex Machina, Her and Robot Dreams have explored with greater nuance and wit. The gold-filtered cinematography and retro production design also come under criticism for failing to establish a convincing world.
His overall verdict is that the film is “perky and inert,” resembling “a warmly worded Hallmark card from an artificial friend.” Lodge predicts that it may struggle to find an audience because its tone is too young for adults yet too dull for children.
Ryan Lattanzio of IndieWire delivers the harshest assessment, awarding the film a D. He calls it a “confoundingly awful, relentlessly twee” adaptation and compares it to this year’s A Big Bold Beautiful Journey. Lattanzio argues that Waititi’s pastel production design, whimsy and slapstick repeatedly undermine the film’s attempts at emotional depth. He points to an electric-fence gag during a rescue scene that clashes with Giacchino’s score, as well as a running joke in which Klara stands on one leg, which he finds irritating rather than amusing.
Lattanzio also questions the film’s editing, finding a sudden crash and Josie’s subsequent coma confusing. He speculates that editors Adam Gough and Tom Eagles may have cut a substantial portion of the footage. In his view, the film reduces its larger questions about life to “treacle,” leaving its potentially profound themes without sufficient substance.
The performances receive more sympathetic responses, although the reviews suggest that the direction and screenplay limit what the cast can achieve. Wise describes Ortega as “a fantastic cheerleader” for the film’s spirit, while Lodge calls her “innately charismatic.” However, Lodge argues that the relentlessly hopeful characterisation and one-note writing work against Ortega’s performance.
Lattanzio also acknowledges Ortega’s charm but believes Waititi’s direction reduces Klara to “manic pixie mannerisms.” Lodge describes Adams as “script-trapped” in the role of a guarded mother, while Lattanzio is similarly unimpressed with her character. Tharia receives a more encouraging assessment from Lodge, who identifies her as a promising young talent. Lyonne also earns praise from Wise for her work in the film’s opening section.
Other critics listed on Rotten Tomatoes have expressed similar reservations. David Robb of Slant Magazine awards the film 1.5 out of 4, describing it as a “faithful adaptation” that nevertheless “strips away everything insightful and affecting” from Ishiguro’s novel. David Jenkins of Little White Lies gives it 1 out of 5, arguing that the “potentially rich subject matter is squandered by Waititi.”
Mike Massie of Gone With The Twins awards the film 5 out of 10, writing that “nothing about the setting is believable or sensible.” Amelia Harvey of Nerdspin gives it a C-, describing it as “a film to pass the time that ignores the hard stuff.” These assessments reinforce the broader criticism that the adaptation struggles to give its central ideas the emotional and philosophical weight they require.
There is some appreciation for the film’s more optimistic qualities. James Mottram of the South China Morning Post awards it 3 out of 5, writing that the “optimistic, fable-like portrait of the future at least provides a welcome ray of sunshine.” Clarisse Loughrey of The Independent gives it 2 out of 5, indicating a more restrained response.
Overall, the critical consensus points to a central problem: Waititi’s whimsical style appears at odds with Ishiguro’s restrained, melancholy storytelling. Reviewers suggest that the film becomes caught between comedy and tragedy without fully committing to either. Ortega and Lyonne receive some of the more favourable comments, but critics question whether the screenplay and direction can support the story’s heavier emotional turns.
With its early Rotten Tomatoes score standing at 29% based on 14 reviews at the time of writing, Klara and the Sun faces a challenging reception ahead of its October 23 theatrical release. The reviews suggest that its premise and performances offer potential, but the adaptation’s tone may prevent it from delivering the emotional impact audiences might expect from Ishiguro’s novel.
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Film Details: Klara and the Sun
- Director: Taika Waititi
- Writers: Taika Waititi and Dahvi Waller, based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro
- Cast: Jenna Ortega, Amy Adams, Mia Tharia, Aran Murphy, Steve Buscemi, Natasha Lyonne and Rachel House
- Genre: Dystopian, comedy-drama
- Rating: PG-13
- Runtime: 1 hour 56 minutes
- Cinematography: Michael Berlucchi
- Music: Michael Giacchino
- Distributor: Sony Pictures
- Release Date: October 23, 2026
