An adorable little Japanese boy plays with his parents on the playground, plants a tree in their front yard and rests in bed reading The little prince. Everything feels nice and normal until bedtime, so instead of slipping under the covers, it sits on its charging station and turns down the power, a little button on the back of its night stand that emits an eerie blue glow.
Thus begins the first official trailer (see below) for the latest film from Japanese art star Hirokazu Kore-eda, Sheep in the box. The film premiered in competition at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, where Koreeda won the Palme d’Or for his film. Thieves in 2018 – and will open in New York and Los Angeles on July 24, before rolling out nationwide over the following weeks.
Koreda’s 17th feature is set in a Japan half a step into a future, where drones offer everything, cars are all electric, and generative artificial intelligence has reached the most intimate corners of family life. Architect Oton (Haruka Ayase) and her carpenter husband Kensuke (comedian-turned-actor Daigo) are grieving the death of their young son when they come across a new robotics company whose services target families in their sad plight. Using photos, videos and other digital traces of lost loves, the company creates AI-powered replicas of the deceased, offering families an alternative and continuity of sorts. The story begins when the robot created by their beloved son arrives in a box at Oton and Kensuke’s doorstep in the suburbs of Tokyo.
In other hands, such a hypothesis might inspire some Black mirrorDystopian-style horror, but as the trailer’s ethereal tone makes clear, Kore-eda, characteristically, has a kinder, more humane take on what AI could portend for human relationships.
“I believe that as artificial intelligence and robotics develop, they will surpass humanity,” Koreeda said. Hollywood Reporter In an interview before the Cannes Film Festival. “They will want to connect with something bigger.”
Koreeda wrote, directed and edited Sheep in the box. Behind the camera he reunites with cinematographer Ryoto Kondo, who also shot Thieves Its popular feature is 2023 A monster. The film is produced by Fuji TV, Gaga, Toho and AOI Pro.
In the US, the film will be released by Neon, continuing the specialist distributor’s long run of handling recent Cannes feature films. International sales are being handled by Gaga and Goodfellas.
