Sheep in the Box

Japanese filmmaker Koreeda has long been a VIFF favourite, and he’s been on a bit of a tear recently with films like Shoplifters, Broker, and Monster. His latest (with another on the way soon) shares a set up with Spielberg’s prescient AI: Artificial Intelligence: Kensuke (Daigo Yamamoto) and Otone (Haruka Ayase) are dealing with the devastating loss of their child, but can’t resist the invitation to bring in an AI robo-clone of their lost seven-year-old son, Kakeru.

Koreeda isn’t interested in playing this scenario up for cheap thrills. Rather he respects the emotional journeys of both the parents and the machine-boy, to probe the complexities and contradictions of grief, love and human connection.

An elegant, wistful fairytale, using elements as diverse as Pinocchio, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince and the Bible story (is it an accident that Kensuke is a carpenter?) — along with Yuta Bandoh’s ethereal soundtrack and Ryûto Kondô’s stunning visuals — to fashion a beautiful allegory in which all the main characters are reborn.

Damon Wise, Deadline

A beautiful yet simple story about using AI to manage grief, Sheep in the Box hits all the right emotional notes.

Patrice Witherspoon, Screen Rant

Frequently insightful about the ways that we move through a world of pain and loss.

Chase Hutchinson, The Playlist

A light yet somehow very profound study of grief that deals with death in an unusual but surprisingly cathartic way. One of Koreeda’s purest and most dreamlike films.

Damon Wise, Deadline