Sundance Film Festival movie review: 'After Yang'

Image courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.

Quiet, contemplative sci-fi drama 'After Yang' (premiering at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival) ponders humanity through the eyes of a machine.

In short: In a near future, a family reckons with questions of love, connection, and loss after their A.I. helper unexpectedly breaks down. Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H. Min and Haley Lu Richardson star.

Writer-director Kogonada's follow-up to 'Columbus' is a soulful rumination on family and saying goodbye in an increasingly complex society, with an undercurrent of some 'The World of Tomorrow' vibes. At its heart, 'After Yang' extrapolates the evolution of Alexa or Siri beyond a virtual assistant and into a fully autonomous being. In the past decade think pieces have mulled the pros and cons of just throwing an ipad at a child, using it as a de facto babysitter. So this story of a family who have leaned on a robot nanny to essentially raise their child isn't inherently as unbelievable as it seems at first blush.

Yang (delicately played by Justin H. Min) is essentially inactive for the entire plot - yet his gentle, inquisitive nature permeates the entire film. The moments Yang has chosen to store as valued memories blur the line between helpful A.I. robot and an older brother who has become a part of his adopted family. Min's performance so beautifully understated, using small nuances to convey endless curiosity and wonder about the living world around him. Yang's musings on experiencing life ring with a quiet, heartbreaking wistfulness, accentuated by Min's graceful performance as a robot who knows his limitations as a robot, yet one that yearns to experience and feel more.

While the story is driven by the father's attempt to reactivate Yang, the film gently moves through the process of saying goodbye. There's a sense of inevitability to 'After Yang' - and this subtle feeling is reminiscent of accepting loss, while discovering new things about them in their last days. Kogonada carefully explores this space, allowing the characters to work through this sudden change to their family - and ponder their life with Yang and reconsider him as more than just a synthetic nanny.

Final verdict: Thoughtful and affecting, 'After Yang' quietly speaks volumes about awareness, identity, grief and ephemeral existence.

Score: 4/5

'After Yang' screens at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. This drama is rated PG for some thematic elements and language and has a running time of 96 minutes.