Adapted from Japanese-British writer Kazuo Ishiguro’s offbeat sci-fi novel, Klara And The Sun stars Jenna Ortega as a humanoid robot companion whose main talent is an unfailing ability to nail the perfect deadpan one-liner – and then make you cry just moments later. If you’ve watched any of director Taika Waititi’s other films – dark satire Jojo Rabbit, screwball adventure Hunt For The Wilderpeople – then you’ll know this signature blend of pathos and comedy well.
Waititi has other skills too, though. He knows his way around an indie banger better than most. Take Klara And The Sun, which is crammed full with hooky guitar bops (Television’s late ‘70s gem ‘Days’), bold art-pop (‘Fistful Of Love’ by Antony & The Johnsons) and alternative tunes such as Violent Femmes’ 1983 cult classic ‘Good Feeling’. That last one, Waititi tells us, is particularly special to him.
“That’s one of my favourite songs of all time,” he says, “I never thought I’d ever have an opportunity to put one of their songs in one of my films. Moments in my life are accompanied by bands like Pixies, Pavement, Femmes, Nirvana. I was very much into indie.”
Like any true indie kid, Waititi has an impeccably selected collection of band t-shirts. Read on for his stories about late trilby-loving troubadour Leonard Cohen, Aussie multi-hyphenate Russell Crowe and The Purple One himself, Prince.
Leonard Cohen’s ‘Songs Of Love And Hate’ blew his mind
“This is one of the most beautiful albums. I’m a massive Leonard Cohen fan. One of my all-time favourite concert experiences was going to see him live by myself when he played in Auckland [in New Zealand] in 2008. It was just after the nasty incident with his manager [Cohen fired his long-time manager and former lover, Kelley Lynch, in 2004 after discovering she had embezzled millions from his personal accounts] and he had to go touring again. Great for me, though!”
He wore his fave Prince tee until it fell to bits
“I wore this one into the ground until it was just rags and fell off. I think it’s probably half of the picture now. But that was before I knew that you should look after t-shirts like that. I would just wear it everywhere. I just loved it. I’m a massive Prince fan. Look, let’s face it, the [Purple Rain] movie’s not great but it’s iconic!”
Russell Crowe is one of Taika’s best pals
“The Russ-meister! I’m good friends with Russell. I’ve listened to his music [in rock collective Indoor Garden Party] and I helped him when he was playing in Italy. I did the video mixing for his concert. He’s wonderful. On-stage, he’s there to do a job and, you know, he’s gonna do it!”
Pixies’ ‘Surfer Rosa’ would be his desert island album
“I was 18 or something when I first heard it. It was incredible. It just blew my mind. I did not understand what was happening… I’ve met some of them and I’ve seen them live. The best thing about them live is they don’t f*** around in-between the songs. It’s just the next song, straight away. They don’t start talking to the crowd, they’re here to play the music.
“I didn’t say much when I met them. There’s certain people that, when you meet them, you revert back into a moron with nothing interesting to say.”
‘Klara And The Sun’ is in UK cinemas now
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