Koreeda’s 126-Minute ‘Sheep In The Box’ Wins Strong Cannes Review for AI-Grief Fable
Updated
Updated · Deadline · May 16
Koreeda’s 126-Minute ‘Sheep In The Box’ Wins Strong Cannes Review for AI-Grief Fable
6 articles · Updated · Deadline · May 16
A Cannes review praised Hirokazu Koreeda’s 126-minute competition entry as a dream-like, cathartic study of grief built around three standout performances, including newcomer Kuwaki Rumi.
The film follows a couple two years after their 7-year-old son’s death as a company called REBirth offers a humanoid child replica, turning loss into a near-future story about AI, memory and mourning.
Haruka Ayase’s mother embraces the robot boy almost immediately, while Daigo’s father resists, creating the film’s central family tension rather than a conventional techno-thriller conflict.
The review says Koreeda avoids dystopian horror and instead transforms the premise into an elegant fairy tale of rebirth, recalling his 1998 film 'After Life' more than recent dramas such as 'Shoplifters' and 'Monster'.
Koreeda's gentle AI fairytale avoids dystopia, but is this hopeful vision dangerously naive about technology's predatory potential?
When grief becomes a billion-dollar industry, who really owns the digital ghosts of our loved ones?