Director Hirokazu Kore-eda premiered his new sci-fi drama "Sheep in the Box" at the 2026 [1] Cannes Film Festival in France.
The film marks a departure for the Japanese filmmaker, using a humanoid android character to examine the intersection of artificial intelligence and human mourning. By centering the narrative on the process of mourning, Kore-eda addresses how technology may alter the fundamental human experience of loss.
The production features Rimu Kuwaki in a breakout lead role and actress Ayase Haruka as Otone [1, 2]. Following the screening, the film received a standing ovation that lasted three and a half minutes [2].
Critical reception of the work has been divided. A reviewer for Yahoo Entertainment said "Sheep in the Box," Hirokazu Kore-eda's take on sci-fi, constantly finds ways to surprise in its study of grief and parenting [3]. Variety said the project was "a thorny yet sensitive meditation on the encroachment of AI on our ability to let go of those who are no longer with us" [1].
Other critics were less convinced. MSN Entertainment said the film was a sweet but limp sci-fi fable [2]. Additionally, The Playlist said that the film's restraint keeps it from digging deeper into its themes [1].
Despite these contradictions in critical depth, the film focuses on the emotional weight of parenting, and the encroachment of AI on human emotions [1, 3]. The story uses the android element not as a spectacle, but as a lens to view the fragility of memory and the difficulty of finality.
“"a thorny yet sensitive meditation on the encroachment of AI on our ability to let go"”
Kore-eda's venture into science fiction reflects a broader cinematic trend of using speculative technology to explore domestic trauma. The mixed reception suggests a tension between the director's signature minimalist restraint and the expectations of a genre that often demands more explicit thematic resolution.
