Baek Byung-yeul is a journalist at The Korea Times focused on cultural content, including films and cultural events in South Korea. You can contact him at baekby@koreatimes.co.kr to share your insights.
INTERVIEW Kore-eda explores human nature, imagination in 'Sheep in the Box'
Director Hirokazu Kore-eda / Courtesy of Media Castle
By Baek Byung-yeul
Renowned Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda has focused on the concept of unseen imagination as the ultimate message of his new sci-fi film "Sheep in the Box."
The movie, which competed for the Palme d'Or at the 79th Cannes Film Festival last month, follows human parents (Haruka Ayase as the mother and Daigo Yamamoto as the father), who adopt a 7-year-old "humanoid" robot Kakeru (Rimu Kuwaki) to replace their deceased son.
The film’s title is inspired by an episode in Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s novel “The Little Prince,” where a pilot draws a box and tells the prince a sheep is inside to satisfy the boy's imagination.
Kore-eda gave the film an ambiguous ending where the parents leave the robot boy in a forest because he believes there should be a certain emotional distance between humans and an entirely different entity, like the adopted humanoid.
"The adults do not go into the forest. Instead, they return. It doesn't end with 'everyone lived happily ever after,'" Kore-eda told The Korea Times at film distributor NEW’s office in Seoul, Friday.
"But I believed those who returned would use their imagination regarding the departed Kakeru. Imagination is what I truly wanted to convey through this film."
From left, actors Haruka Ayase, Rimu Kuwaki and Daigo Yamamoto in a scene from “Sheep in the Box” / Courtesy of Media Castle
Kore-eda revealed that the initial inspiration for the film came from an article about a business in China that uses generative AI to resurrect deceased individuals.
“Sheep in the Box" questions whether AI can fill the void after losing a family member, exploring where the true essence of humanity comes from.
The director added that the focus of the movie was not simply on the technology itself but on the human emotions that create the desire for artificial companions.
"While there are many sci-fi stories exploring the self-awareness of humanoids, our film focuses instead on the humans who desire them," Kore-eda said.
"That doesn't mean I am uninterested in the robot's consciousness. I am curious about where their self-awareness begins to sprout. If we can define it, we can just delete it from a program, but because it cannot be defined, I started thinking that if a humanoid's self-awareness does sprout, it must come from somewhere else."
The renowned filmmaker, who has a strong Korean fanbase, also expressed concerns over the rapid integration of AI in filmmaking, warning that extreme efficiency might make global movies lose their distinctiveness.
"If we rely heavily on AI and virtual studios for efficiency, movies will start looking similar, losing their unique creative edge," he said.
He recalled a conversation with actor Bae Doona during the filming of his 2022 Korean debut “Broker,” saying “Bae once told me she preferred filming car scenes on location in order to actually feel the wind, and I completely agreed with her."
Actor Rimu Kuwaki in a scene from “Sheep in the Box” / Courtesy of Media Castle
Kore-eda traveled to Seoul to promote the film, accompanied by Kuwaki, who beat out 200 contenders to play the humanoid son.
Known for his exceptional ability to guide child actors, Kore-eda praised Kuwaki’s natural talent. "I had an intuitive feeling from the very beginning that he was the one," Kore-eda said.
Kuwaki also expressed his respect for Kore-eda.
"The director was incredibly gentle and kind, explaining everything in detail," Kuwaki said.
"Working on this film made me realize how fun acting is. Now, my dream is to become a movie director," Kuwaki said. Hearing this, Kore-eda smiled and asked, "Is that because the director seemed to have the most fun on set?" Kuwaki enthusiastically replied, "Yes!"
When asked about his next movie, Kore-eda said he is scheduled to release a new work, “Look Back,” based on cartoonist Tatsuki Fujimoto’s short comic this fall.
"Sheep in the Box" will be released in local theaters on June 10.