After Yang (2021)

Directed by: Kogonada | 97 minutes | science fiction, drama | Actors: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Justin H. Min, Orlagh Cassidy, Ritchie Coster, Sarita Choudhury, Clifton Collins Jr., Ava DeMary, Adeline Kerns, Ansley Kerns, Haley Lu Richardson, Lee Wong, Brett DierKara YoungEve LindleyNana MensahAn-Li BoganDeborah HedwallKatie Honaker

How would you rather spend the evening, with your fully charged mobile phone or tablet on the couch or in a good conversation with a family member, without any technical gadgets nearby? There will probably be many people who choose the second option, but there will undoubtedly also be a number of that group who say that they like to do the latter, but secretly prefer to keep up with their social media, watch videos on YouTube or play a game. . We have come to love our mobile devices. The group of people who ‘can’t live without it’ still seems to be growing and we often see our iPhones or Android devices as extensions of ourselves. Not surprising: with all the technical possibilities it makes life easier and it has also become a part of life. In ‘After Yang’ we see what can happen when such a piece of technology so intertwined with your life gives up the ghost.

Jake (Colin Farrell), Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith), Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) and Yang (Justin H. Min) are a happy family. Mika is the adopted daughter of the always busy couple, who comes from China and Yang has been bought as her older brother. Purchased, yes, because Yang is a techno sapiens, a lifelike robot, who has to teach Mika about the Chinese language and culture, but over time has started to act more as a babysitter. Yang is everything to Mika, she is completely dependent on his presence. That’s not surprising, because aside from looking and acting like a human, Jake and Kyra are both constantly busy with their careers, leaving little time to spend with Mika. During the little quality time they have, they participate in a (hilarious) online dance competition.

When Yang suddenly malfunctions, it is a huge blow to the girl. The parents react rather irritated; it’s like the dishwasher is broken and even though the warranty is still on they don’t really have time to take the appliance back to the shop for repair. All things considered, Yang is of course also a machine, a refurbished model, which is said to have only been used by the first owner for five days. Urged on by Kyra – seeing how Yang’s untimely “death” affects her daughter, Jake sets out to find the store where Yang was bought back then. That is not without a struggle. Can Yang be patched up again and if not, what will be left of him?

‘After Yang’ is Kogonada’s second full-length film (‘Columbus’, 2017). The film is based on a short story by Alexander Weinstein (“Saying Goodbye to Yang” from “Children of the New World, 2016). The story of ‘After Yang’ is set in the future: which – apart from the fact that human robots and clones are part of everyday life – only subtly manifest itself in gadgets such as self-driving cars. Kogonada does not show spaceships or futuristic looking houses or cities, which makes this science fiction film more humane in a clever way.

Apart from the beautiful setting of the film, every detail has been thought through, ‘After Yang’ impresses with its calm and almost meditative atmosphere. As the options for getting Yang back up and running diminish, Jake becomes more deeply involved in the past of his surrogate son and family, and Mika becomes increasingly inconsolable. In fact she is being held up, it is as if death as a concept has not yet been discussed with the girl and therefore she cannot process it. Despite this failing aspect of parenting, ‘After Yang’ is not gloomy or bleak. It does provide new insights into love and remorse. In addition, it offers a hopeful glimpse into the future of artificial intelligence, with perhaps the most beautiful statement being the one used by Ada (Haley Lu Richardson) to correct Jake: “That is such a typically human statement. You all just assume that non-humans prefer to be humans.” A gem of a movie.