Starring Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith

Written and Directed by Kogonada

Sky Cinema

When his adopted daughter’s beloved companion, a ‘technosapien’ named Yang, malfunctions, Jake’s search for a way to repair it leads to an emotional realisation.

The question as to whether AIs can become conscious, sentient beings is well trodden territory for aficionados of science fiction, so it’s undoubtedly refreshing that After Yang reframes this to ask whether, conscious or not, the ‘life’ of an android should have the same value as one lived by an organic human.

I love the premise of this film, exploring the collective grief felt by a family at the loss of the robotic sibling purchased for their adopted Chinese daughter, ostensibly to help with her sense of cultural identification. This is grown-up, complex stuff. It looks very beautiful and it has a calm, elegiac quality underpinned by Colin Farrell (in my opinion, an under-rated actor who rarely gets the plaudits he deserves) providing a still, intelligent, reflective centre to the movie.

This might be more than enough for many people but I did have some significant reservations. Director Kogonada has made a stylistic choice to shoot the ‘human’ end of the story entirely on ‘locked-off’ cameras, only allowing the lens to move – to come ‘alive’ – when it explores the memories of the artificial technosapien. This is a bold, and perfectly understandable artistic decision, however as Yang malfunctions in the first few minutes of the film, most of what follows is told from the human perspective, which means most of the movie is very static. The art direction and lighting are well crafted but the result is largely ‘photographic’ not ‘cinematic’.

The ‘death’ of Yang as the premise of the film also creates a structural problem. The action of the movie, such as it is, consists largely of retrospection and reflection. Yang’s role in the family is reported rather than experienced by the audience. I found myself wishing that Kogonada had chosen a different start point, so that I would feel the loss rather than having to take it on trust.

Verdict: I like my stories to move forward and the camera to move and unpeel the action for me, so I’m afraid the stillness of After Yang isn’t for me, but the ideas are rich, the approach is thoughtful and intelligent, and the movie is so humane and good-hearted, I’m sure that many will get a lot more from it than I did. 6/10

Martin Jameson