A couple – she an architect, he a building contractor, suffered the accidental death of their 5-year-old son, Kakeru, two years earlier, and his absence has left a hole in their lives nothing can fill. They visit a company called ReBirth, which rents humanoid robots made to resemble the dead, programmed with their family memories, to ease the grief of bereft parents. They agree to a trial, and bring home the robot. It cannot eat, nor get wet, can’t smell or taste – her husband, skeptical, calls it a Roomba.
But this Kakeru simulacrum, now apparently seven, with a sweet calm nature, a child’s curiosity, and snuggles with his “Mama,” charms them despite their misgivings. Over time, both parents fall under its spell – it’s comforting to believe this so-familiar robot child is their son. The film’s title comes from Antoine de Saint-Exupery's children’s book The Little Prince, in which he demands the aviator draw him a sheep. It’s too old. Draw me a sheep! The next is another failure. Then the aviator draws a large box, with air-holes, and tells the youth his sheep is inside. The Prince is delighted – this sheep is exactly what he wanted.
I won’t spoil your viewing by telling you more, beyond observing that once again, Kore-eda displays his great love for children. And as I’ve come to expect (well, not find surprising), the film-maker shifts narrative scope midway through – after we’ve settled in with these characters, he puts them at the center of a larger picture. Resolution at this higher level challenges them, and us, to a different world-view.
