After Yang

Manuel São Bento 2/21/2022 7:16:23 PM 8.4

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://www.msbreviews.com/movie-reviews/after-yang-spoiler-free-review-sundance-2022 "After Yang may have some pacing issues, but Kogonada's beautifully thoughtful storytelling and ASKA's unforgettable, tear-inducing score transform this piece into a contemplative, inspirational cinematic experience. A profound, sincere study of what it means to be a family, what it means to be loved, and how important it is to remember where we come from. A fascinating look into the core of humanity through the heart of a robot - both literally and figuratively. Exceptional performances, but Colin Farrell stands out with a subtle yet potent performance. Occasionally, it loses itself amid its admittedly gorgeous wide, static shots. Still memorable, nonetheless." Rating: B+

r96sk 1/13/2025 3:01:23 AM 8.4

<em>'After Yang'</em> is a good movie, plain and simple. My only negative would be how slow paced it is, like I definitely get why it is portrayed the way it is and it has its benefits in certain moments. However, it did take me out of events onscreen here and there. That aside, it's a well made film; there's plenty to chew on in terms of what it's attempting to tell. Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja and Justin H. Min all do good work on the cast, while both the futuristic setting and the editing are further positives for this flick. I won't lie and say I loved it, because I didn't, but I'm glad I watched it.

CinemaSerf 9/24/2022 3:50:28 PM 8.4

When a futuristic family are doing their daily exercise regime one morning, the robotic companion for the young "Mika" (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja) has a bit of a freeze. Pestered by the - frankly annoying - child, mum (Jodie Turner-Smith) and dad (Colin Farrell) decide it has to be fixed, so the latter takes it to a friend of a friend after it transpires their warranty doesn't cover "core" failure. Anyway, his new diagnostician suspects that the chip that controls the young "Yang" might contain secret spyware - and suggests that he goes to visit a scientist who might be able to open up the chip and get to the truth. It's got elements of iRobot (2004) to it, but otherwise I found it all a little too sterile. The story is delivered via flashbacks mixed within the contemporaneous plot, but essentially this is just a rather dry observation of a fairly unremarkable family whose toy has broken down. Such more sinister elements to the film as there are - a few big brother-esque themes - are largely undercooked. There is hardly any of Turner-Smith on screen, and what there is doesn't gel at all well with a Farrell who has lost much of his on-screen charisma and is now little better than a jobbing actor whose face we recognise. Perhaps it does tell us something about love and of the nature of affection, but only superficially and I can't say I found there to be much to write about with this. Sorry - it will look fine on the television, I wouldn't bother a cinema with it.