SHEEP IN THE BOX
Sheep in the Box by Koreeda, A Constructed Child
In Competition for the ninth time , Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Koreeda, who has won multiple awards at Cannes, presents his latest offering, Sheep in the Box. This is a new take on his preferred themes, loss and childhood. He has filmed children who have been abandoned, abducted, exchanged, surrendered anonymously at birth. For the first time, Koreeda’s work involves filming a child who has been “constructed”. Here’s what three viewers thought post-screening.
Manon Sabrier Hirokazu Koreeda brings us a poetic film on mourning which effectively depicts its various stages. From metaphors to references to Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince), the director questions our need to keep loved ones alive after their passing. At only 10 years of age, the young leading actor, Rimu Kuwaki, delivers a very convincing performance in the film. Beyond the theme of loss, the film makes us wonder about this not-too-distant future where AI and robots will be omnipresent.
Piero Morseletto The film has a multi-faceted narrative structure, with each layer filled with a powerful symbolism and profound humanity. This includes the take on mourning and the feeling of guilt; the parents’ jobs (architect, carpenter) having a link to construction; the tree, a symbol of mediation between human and nature; the issue of AI becoming a part of our lives. The central theme of Le Petit Prince (The Little Prince) unfolds throughout the film, while the contrasts characteristic of Japanese films, like tradition and modernity, life and death, and nature and artificiality, run through every scene.
Charlotte Pavard What really caught my attention in Sheep in the Box is what Koreeda gets AI to say about nature. The robot-child turns to trees and to the forest. The film keeps going back to this, as if nature were the only valid response to the question technology raises. There are also the shots on the faces and the images of the forest that, I feel, mirror the final scenes of Kaibutsu (Monster, 2023): same lighting, children outdoors, with the concept of secrets being the driving force of the story. I like this life that he brings to his films.
