After Yang - Movie Review

Critics Score - 9 of 10

General Audience Score - 7 of 10

When critics put together their favorite films of the year list (we all do), we consider the movies that move, touch and reach us on a different level than the rest. Certain films speak to us more than others do, it’s the nature of art and it’s interpretation by each individual viewing it. I got to see the new film from writer/director Kogonada, After Yang back at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It was not only my favorite film of the festival, it’s stayed my favorite film of year, as of this writing. With it’s recent release on VOD streaming and Blu-Ray, I wanted to revisit the film and put my thoughts down about this creation from a wonderful director. This is a delicate film, it’s not big, loud, it’s not in your face, there are messages but they’re contemplative, not instructive. Kogonada invites us to relax, pull up a seat, enjoy a cup of tea and let your mind ponder the complexities of this thing we call life. He explores things like time and memory, all in the context of how they affect the human existence. Even though there’s no epic finale, if you put Yang in your movie cue, you’ll probably be surprised how it lingers long After many other films are forgotten.

SYNOPSIS - This futuristic film teeters right on the edge of reality and science fiction and it begins with an introduction to a family of four. We meet the father Jake (Colin Farrell), mother Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) and their daughter Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) standing together for a portrait until their son Yang (Justin Min) runs over from the camera to join them before the picture clicks. In one of the best opening credit sequences of all time, we watch the family compete in an online dance competition and it is nothing short of incredible. When they finally get eliminated, the family starts talking about how well they did but Yang keeps on dancing until eventually they start calling his name to stop him. But then as Jake explains to Kyra, “It looks like we have three years left on the warranty”, and we start to clue in that something isn’t quite right with Yang. Interwoven in Kogonada’s story are flashback sequences that fill us in on some of Yang’s dynamics within the family he lives with. In explaining to Mika about her adoption and interracial family, he shows her a branch being grafted into a tree. “Something wonderful is happening here. This branch is from a different tree”, he explains. “But now it’s becoming an actual part of this tree.” So many films are predictable in the storytelling and the emotional beats you can expect, but after the first act I honestly had no read on where the film was headed.

But then after a unknown visitor starts popping up, Farrell must sift through pieces of Yang’s past and a mystery starts unraveling of who he was and where he came from. Farrell is really doing some impressive work, even though it’s not showy or bombastic, he seamlessly blends into the film’s subtle tone. He even has a couple funny moments, he remarks negatively about the man next door, “His kids are clones. . .  And he paints his face for sporting events.” As Farrell later start watching short clips of his family in their day to day life, in many ways the film begins to parallel life in general and how delicate it is. In the same vein as the Pixar film Soul, it alludes to how we can be thankful for these moments, even though with many of them we don’t even realize it when they’re happening. A few plot points fail to find resolution, some subtle marital tension feels a bit undercooked and fails to lead anywhere or get any finality. I don’t want to spoil anything, but at the finale of the film, Yang has a conversation with Kyra about existence and the end of it. The power behind that sequence, it’s as heavy and gripping as any scene from a film I’ve seen all year. It’s reflective, it makes one appreciative of the time we have, here and now.

After Yang takes us to a future that Kogonada has created. His direction, his attention to detail, his vision of it has all been crafted to near perfection. This film feels refined, like Kogonada sifted through the material and filtered out any excess, while the film is slow and methodical, the camera lingering on some of the shots, it also feels precise, with next to no waste. Kogonada is the doctor and his incisions get to the heart of the matters under discussion, our memories, life, our relationships, our past, time, the things we value and how they all affect our human existence. The production design is truly impressive, the home the family lives in as well as the lighting fixtures and artwork in it. Kogonada uses a lot of wood, glass and plants that give the film a warm and earthy tone with it’s shades of brown and green. I just imagine this is Kogonada’s house and he chose to use it for the shooting. There are several sequences of the characters traveling around in cars, the use of light reflections whizzing past in the window glass gives the film a feeling of surrealism, yet it stays grounded in its sensibilities. The costume design has some very oriental influences, the kinds of things you’d expect to see worn at a new age gift shop, again, it all added to the serene and peaceful atmosphere the film creates. As well as the original score, offering us some very complementary piano and violin work, it was very light, touching and emotional at times. Some may say the film is anti-climactic, that it finishes on such a flat note that some may leave without getting the point, which I understand. But I think the points of the film, again, isn’t to instruct. It proposes the questions, offers us suggestions, but let’s the individual sort through what the ultimate takeaway is. And who better to asses what their place in the world is than the one who occupies the space you’re currently in?

SUMMARY - General audiences may be a little more hard pressed to get themselves on this film’s wavelength, even with a shorter runtime of just over an hour and a half. But Kogonada’s gentle and touching reflection on our own personal existence and experiences can show any cinema lovers with some patience that there really is life After Yang.