TOKYO (AP) \u2014 In acclaimed Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda\u2019s latest film, a grieving couple turns to technology to recreate what they have lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cSheep in the Box,\u201d opening in U.S. theaters Friday, centers on a married couple whose son has died. To cope with their grief, they commission a humanoid made in his exact likeness.<\/p>\n
The title refers to \u201cThe Little Prince,\u201d Antoine de Saint-Exup\u00e9ry\u2019s children\u2019s book, in which a sheep is imagined as being hidden inside a box. For Kore-eda, the reference suggests that some of the most valuable things in life may be intangible, sustained by connections that cannot be seen.<\/p>\n
The film, a family drama set in the not-too-distant future, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival<\/a> this year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt explores how a couple tries to rework their relationship with their child, and so it\u2019s not that different from the stories I\u2019ve explored in my past works,\u201d Kore-eda told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n Born in Tokyo in 1962, Kore-eda started directing documentaries after graduating from Waseda University. He generally writes, directs and edits his films, an enormous undertaking in filmmaking, but it gives him near-total control. <\/p>\n His 2013 feature \u201cLike Father, Like Son,\u201d a heartbreaking exploration of fatherhood centering on babies who get switched at birth, won the Jury Prize at Cannes<\/a>.<\/p>\n His 2018 \u201cShoplifters,\u201d which won the Palme d\u2019Or<\/a> and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, was about a poverty-stricken family<\/a> that survives partly by shoplifting.<\/p>\n In 2019, he directed French actors Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche in \u201cThe Truth.\u201d<\/a> In the 2022 film \u201cBroker,\u201d he directed Korean actors, including Song Kang-ho, who won Best Actor at Cannes.<\/p>\n Despite the demands of his productions, Kore-eda is known for trying to ensure that everyone enjoys working on his sets. He has also been a longtime and vocal opponent of harassment in the industry.<\/a><\/p>\n That approach stands out in an industry known for punishing hours and low pay, particularly in Japan. Anyone found harassing another person while working on one of Kore-eda\u2019s films is immediately removed from the production. <\/p>\n Adding to the challenge of ensuring benevolent filmmaking is that his works often have children as leading characters.<\/p>\n In his 2004 \u201cNobody Knows,\u201d children live without adult supervision, as they scrounge for food and live without running water or electricity. <\/p>\n