Slow-moving science fiction is a genre which seems all but dead nowadays. While everyone and their mom knows 2001: A Space Odyssey and nerdier fans may know Solaris or Stalker, currently it seems like the genre has hit a big low. With the rise of superhero movies as the dominant cinematic form, many are content to get their science-fiction kicks from the large blockbuster action movies, but I hungered for something deeper. And I found it in Kogonada’s 2021 movie After Yang.
If Kogonada’s name doesn’t sound familiar, that shouldn’t come as a surprise. His directorial debut Columbus came out only a few years earlier. Despite the relative lack of films under his belt, Kogonada has been in the film game a long time, getting his start talking about other filmmakers in video essays.
Kogonada’s After Yang centers around a family whose lives are uprooted when their robotic assistant Yang malfunctions. While the story could have taken a front seat in an action-filled adventure to save Yang front termination, Kogonada instead takes a softer approach to tell a story about love, familial ties, and our purpose in the world.
From the beginning of the film, Kogonada’s style is evident. Rich, cool-toned colors and carefully set-up lighting creates the atmosphere of a family home with balance and order. There is a clear Asian-inspired minimalist design to the decor that allows the characters room to breathe, not just compositionally, but also narratively. Kogonada invites the audience to settle into the welcoming arms of his carefully constructed world. Kogonada uses cuts minimally, allowing for his actors to move about the scene. This movement allows the audience to feel immersed in the world, like all we are seeing is a snapshot in a moment of their lives.
Although it’s not implicitly said at any point, there is enough evidence to suggest the world we are looking at is scientifically and technologically much more advanced than our current modern day. Yang’s status as a robot has clearly been integrated into the society for many generations due to the existence of places that offer “quick fixes” for robot issues.
Also present is the existence of cloning, with some parents opting to clone their own child to keep their legacy alive. There is also evidence that the world we are seeing is divided, both culturally and socially. The father of the family Jake (played by Colin Farrell) clearly feels an apprehension to his neighbor who has cloned his child. There is a rift, where Jake opts to get a robot companion for his daughter while his neighbor opts for cloning. Here Kogonada is questioning the intersection of biology and technology and whether science can go too far.
Many scenes in the movie revolve around Jake trying to find out an answer for who Yang was in an attempt to fix him. Utilizing a device similar to a VR headset, Jake navigates through the memories of Yang’s life. Moments that Yang remembers are scattered around his digital brain. Like humans, Yang has special memories he has saved that seem innocuous to Jake as the viewer. It’s only through Jake’s investigating that he comes to understand the importance of these memories for Yang.
Jake begins the movie trying to hold on to Yang’s existence, going from place to place to try and fix him and diving into his memories in an attempt to find any lead. Jake faces mounting pressure from both his family and outsiders on what to do with Yang’s body and memories. His more rough-around-the-edges friends suggest the selling of pieces, while the more clinical academics urge him to give up Yang’s memory for study. All the while his daughter Mika grows anxious in a world without her best friend.
Kogonada’s film moves slowly, but it’s slow in a way that makes one feel that to rush it would be like rushing a flower to grow. Dialogue flows from character to character and space to space that feels like the viewer is being invited to interact not just with the story and cinematic elements but also internally. Giving time for the viewer to come to their own conclusion by the end of the story. Although most filmmakers ask questions and give answers, Kogonada gives only questions that even he may not know the answer to, and that’s just how he likes it.
