After Yang

Name: After Yang
Genre: Sci-Fi, Drama
Released: March 4, 2022
Duration: 96 min
Rating: 78
Cast: Adeline Kerns, Ava DeMary, Brett Dier, Clifton Collins Jr., Colin Farrell

2022

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 44 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Ratings

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7.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 59 Ratings

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After Yang

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Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: March 4, 2022 | PG

Starring: Adeline Kerns, Ava DeMary, Brett Dier, Clifton Collins Jr., Colin Farrell, Eve Lindley, Haley Lu Richardson, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Orlagh Cassidy, Ritchie Coster, Sarita Choudhury

Summary: When his young daughter's beloved companion — an android named Yang — malfunctions, Jake (Colin Farrell) searches for a way to repair him. In the process, Jake discovers the life that has been passing in front of him, reconnecting with his wife (Jodie Turner-Smith) and daughter across a distance he didn't know was there.

Director: Kogonada

Genre(s): Sci-Fi, Drama

Rating: PG

Runtime: 96 min

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Critic Reviews

100

Alison Willmore

Mar 4, 2022

After Yang has the structure of a subdued mystery, though at its core it has no answers to these, or any, questions. Instead, it provides a slowly dawning and utterly devastating understanding of the hidden richness of its title character’s existence. Read full review

Jesse Hassenger

Mar 2, 2022

Despite the sci-fi trimmings—or, really, in perfect sync with them—the anxiety After Yang generates has the gentle, humming pervasiveness of real life. It’s trying its best to tell us about the world. Read full review

Slashfilm Jason Gorber

Jul 12, 2021

Kogonada’s precision, akin to the blend we witness the master tea maker assembling, prodding gently with a wooden utensil to craft a perfect mix of ingredients, results in a heady brew that’s both intoxicating and delicious. Read full review

John Bleasdale

Jul 10, 2021

After Yang is a moving, subtle and grounded piece of science fiction that doesn’t necessarily get to the core, but certainly hits the heart. Read full review

The Guardian Peter Bradshaw

Sep 21, 2022

The action of After Yang, bizarre and exotic as it is, meditates on what it is to be human and how that may in the future be modified, but it also addresses loss in the present day: our anguished and futile human instinct that death must surely be fixable. Read full review

Richard Brody

Mar 7, 2022

After Yang shows how easily the taste for beauty can be tainted, subverted, distorted, and abused by the powers that be. Read full review

G. Allen Johnson

Mar 2, 2022

With “After Yang,” the distinctive filmmaker Kogonada has made a movie that is at once ambitious yet timid, asking big questions but providing no answers, not even clues. It’s a thought experiment, but a thought that meanders. Read full review

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User Reviews

JustThinkin

Mar 17, 2022

Jean-Luc Godard once remarked that a story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. Which brings us to After Yang. The story begins in "the middle." Jake is a middle-aged man, stuck. He is lonely and dispirited. His small business is running on fumes.Jean-Luc Godard once remarked that a story should have a beginning, a middle and an end, but not necessarily in that order. Which brings us to After Yang. The story begins in "the middle." Jake is a middle-aged man, stuck. He is lonely and dispirited. His small business is running on fumes. He seems depressed. He is withdrawing, self-isolating from his wife and daughter, both of whom are clearly aware that Jake has checked out emotionally. The family is getting along. They are pleasant with one another. They go through the motions. But the spark is gone. Perceptive viewers will sense trouble ahead. The film is the story of Jake coming back to life -- a story that begins with a shock of recognition, a voyage of discovery, a new perspective that brings with it a stunning acknowledgment of loss, and the beginning of healing. Jake sets out to fix Yang. Yang ends up fixing Jake, and the family. It is subtle, understated and beautifully done.

The "beginning" is glimpsed only in flashbacks of memory. The "end" is projected in hints. Most of the narrative is the voyage of discovery, in which Jake for the first time truly sees a life that had been lived right in front of him, unnoticed. This is a character study played out in the shadows of memory. The question, "Do you believe a cup of tea can contain a world" reminded me of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," the classic story by Ambrose Bierce, which explored how much can be contained in a fraction of a second. Come to think of it, that might make a worthy next project for Kogonada, a master of subtlety and indirection. This is a wonderful movie, the best so far of 2022. Kogonada raises more questions than he answers. He leaves mysteries to ponder. He does not insult viewers with simple answers to unanswerable questions. Jake's ceremonial care in making tea is a metaphor for Kogonada's treatment of grief, mystery and wonder: they swirl and fall, slowly and delicately, and the viewer must find his own meaning in the search. This is a contemplative film and will not be to everyone's taste, but let it steep slowly and you will be rewarded.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

Mahmus

Apr 29, 2022

A quiet and moving sci-fi drama that touches on universally relatable themes while also presenting a unique and charming futuristic style.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Dunkaccino

Dec 23, 2022

A tender, moving picture that understands human connection and how memories work.

1 of 2 users found this helpful11

jackiedd

Mar 4, 2022

A must watch for any sci fi fan. The cast shines and the story intrigues. Another hit by A24.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

moviemitch96

Mar 6, 2022

A touching and thought-provoking sci-fi A.I. drama in the same vein as fellow A24 film 'Ex Machina', Colin Farrell stars as a husband and father who attempts to repair his family's A.I. named Yang that he got for his daughter specifically to help her appreciate her Asian heritage andA touching and thought-provoking sci-fi A.I. drama in the same vein as fellow A24 film 'Ex Machina', Colin Farrell stars as a husband and father who attempts to repair his family's A.I. named Yang that he got for his daughter specifically to help her appreciate her Asian heritage and culture. The film closely examines the effect that Yang has on the family and the heartache they face in possibly having to lose him for good. Farrell gives one of his more intimate and heartfelt performances to date, alongside equally tender supporting performances from Jodie Turner-Smith and Haley Lu Richardson in particular. I also found the film rather aesthetically unique, given its modest budget, as the production and effects, while minimal, I still found rather unique and impressive. Story-wise, while there are some plot beats that feel a little familiar from other similar sci-fi stories, the performances and gentle handling of the material help it stand apart from the rest. So overall, it's another tender and unique little sci-fi gem from A24 thanks to the performances of the cast, intriguing production values, and a sweet story at its core.… Expand

1 of 1 users found this helpful10

OctaneNitro

Apr 11, 2022

After Yang spends so much time trying to craft a thematically-rich piece of high art, it fails to pay enough attention to the fundamentals. The film doesn't develop its setting at all, while also lacking interesting characters and a comprehensible plot. Sadly, whispered monologues andAfter Yang spends so much time trying to craft a thematically-rich piece of high art, it fails to pay enough attention to the fundamentals. The film doesn't develop its setting at all, while also lacking interesting characters and a comprehensible plot. Sadly, whispered monologues and esoteric flashbacks can only get you so far - at some point, you actually have to DO something with the themes and foundations you've laid.

Arguably the most engaging part of the film is how it portrays human connections in a world governed by cold technology, with the same privacy and "you'll own nothing and enjoy it" issues present in our world today. Unfortunately, the film's central family dynamic is similarly cold: "the good times" are hardly shown at all, and we're simply told that Yang was a beloved part of the family via unconvincing dialogue.

The film's plot is equally sparse. Despite being fairly focused at first, after a while, it devolves into flashback after flashback, and conversation after slow conversation, killing any forward momentum before the film unceremoniously ends. At points, it actually becomes difficult to follow, with characters (some with the same name?) popping up for a scene or two and then vanishing.

Overall, it's clear that this was created strictly for an indie, film festival audience. There's nothing wrong with that, but After Yang is far from a modern classic. It's bitter medicine, reluctantly taken and dubiously effective.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

MetacriticOnur

Mar 5, 2022

bad
[ bad ]

adjective, worse, worst;(Slang) bad·der, bad·dest for 36.
not good in any manner or degree.

0 of 7 users found this helpful07

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