After Yang – a unique blend of sci-fi and sentimentality

When a young girl’s android robot stops working, it sends the family into a tailspin.

The android Yang (Justin H. Min) was bought by Jake (Colin Farrell) and Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) to care for their young, adopted daughter, Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja).

Unfortunately, Mika had very quickly become inseparable from Yang and feels his loss deeply.

The cracks felt in the family unit after the loss of Yang continue to grow as this dramatic, science-fiction drama from South Korean writer-director Kogonada progresses.

Finding someone to mend Yang is not easy as he is second hand, with a chequered past previously unknown by his current owners.

As Jake goes from repair shop to repair shop looking for a cheap fix, he is astonished to discover that Yang – a very human-looking ‘technosapien’ of Asian appearance – still has a lot of old memories contained in his hard drive.

Indeed, on accessing Yang’s memory bank, Jake discovers a huge tapestry of emotions and memories literally glowing like stars in the night sky.

As he zooms in on each of these pinpricks of light, some of Yang’s amazing experiences are revealed and Jake realises there is much more to this mild-mannered android than first meets the eye.

As an actor, Colin Farrell has been known to excel in quirky, offbeat films such as The Lobster.

In After Yang, he holds together a film that without his strength and ability, may not have fully reached its potential.

After Yang starts Thursday 28 April at Luna Leederville.

By Mike Peeters