One Film A Day: After Yang

DAY 16 - 17/11/2023

After Yang (2021) is yet another gem directed by Kogonada that is a thought-provoking science fiction drama. The film explores themes of artificial intelligence, human connection, and the nature of grief. Not to mention the truly brilliant soundtrack this film has. I still listen to it to this day.

With each viewing, I tend to catch new details, nuances, and connections that I missed the first time. The layered narrative allows for a deeper understanding of the characters and their relationships. It's a sci-fi film unlike any other in my opinion. The incredible restraint not to turn this into a gunslinging, action-packed, f-ed-up psychedelic thriller bathed in neon is applause-worthy, to say the least.

The beauty of architecture in this film is not something I would normally point out in a sci-fi film, but the way it's kept so grounded and real whilst maintaining the science-fiction air of impossibility is quite remarkable. There are many things in this film that could convince you that it wasn't a sci-fi film, but it is still sufficiently evident that this is very much a sci-fi film, just different from the ones we're used to.

A 1 hour and 30 mins-ish, this film is one I'd highly recommend to watch because it offers something different. Something we understand but better still, something we feel. There are few films with as soothing and calming a soundtrack as this one has. Courtesy of the late great Ryuichi Sakamoto and his song, Memory Bank.

This is what's called a "Techno-Sapien" in the film, After Yang (2021).

My Rating: 10/10.