FilmSnobReviews

Title: After Yang
MPAA Rating: PG
Director: Kogonada
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja
Runtime: 1 hr 36 mins

What It Is: Jake (Farrell), his wife Kira (Turner-Smith), and their young daughter Mika (Tjandrawidjaja) seems like a perfectly happy unit. Well, at least they were until Mika’s A.I. sibling Yang (Justin H. Min) shuts down and won’t turn back on. Jake is deadset on getting Yang back up and running. In the midst of this, he’ll uncover that perhaps Yang was more than he thought. That this A.I. helper goes beyond what and who he thought Yang was.

What We Think: The beauty and weight of the subjects discussed in this film are beyond what a normal director can do. Kogonada is no ordinary director. His explorations of the human condition, existentialism, and who we are as humans are extraordinary. He asks the two biggest questions “what, truly, is love?” “what is it to be human”. Additionally, he asks “can you choose your family”. The biggest and perhaps most important thing to take away from this film is how good Kogonada is. His camera an eye peeking slowly into the family’s lives. I found the majority of the script to be so tightly wound. One character motion leading seamlessly into another.

Our Grade: A, Not just one of, if not the best, films from Sundance 2022 it’s a highlight of early 2022 in general. Wonderfully acted and delicately put together this once again shows Kogonada is an auteur of contemporary mind pieces. Equal parts philosophy and narrative. Seeming to take place in our world but JUST outside of it. Another excellent turn from Haley Lu Richardson…who I’m hoping continues to work with Kogonada as the pair are 2 for 2 with this critic. If you haven’t checked out Kogonada’s other feature Columbus I recommend it highly.