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After Yang

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En busca de la humanidad – After Yang: Opinión [ESP-ENG]@soldierofdreams1371d

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¿Qué nos hace humanos?

Tal vez nuestra naturaleza indescifrable, compleja, abstracta y salvaje, programada en lo que llamamos conciencia. Entonces, ¿Qué tan humanos somos? El problema radica no en el hecho de nuestro origen humano, si no en el propio cuestionamiento que rodea la pregunta. A primera vista somos los que vemos en un espejo, lo que razonamos y aceptamos como parte de la identidad. ¡Identidad! Quizás sea esa la palabra correcta a tantas incógnitas…

Pero, ¿cualquier cosa puede tener identidad? ¿Incluso un robot? Curiosamente, After Yang nos mueve en un cúmulo de paradojas abiertas a la sensibilidad del razonamiento. Haciendo honor a su título, el largometraje presenta duras interrogantes a la humanidad moderna, a la inclusión de culturas y los lazos que no duran para siempre. ¿Familia? ¿Amigos? ¿Amor…? ¿Qué es el amor cuando no nos sentimos completos? Por algo el propio existencialismo busca respuestas a una realidad misteriosa, arcaica e incomprensible. Nos aferramos al mundo, nos aferramos a la compañía de otros… ¿Cuándo nos aferramos a la verdadera vida?

Yang, el principal eje de este film, es una representación de lo que puede suponer la insatisfacción, no con su cuerpo o su mente, sino con la naturaleza orgánica que nace, se reproduce y finalmente muere. Él es un tecno, una clase de androide programado para acercar la cultura china a los niños asiáticos adoptados. Yang fue creado para servir, instruir y amar, algo que hace con creces todos los días de su programada… ¿vida? Su misión más reciente: Guiar a Mika, su hermana, a sentirse identificada con sus raíces originarias. Como complemento de una familia de diferentes etnias, Yang buscará forjar lazos y renovar recuerdos con la herramienta más dolorosa de la existencia: la muerte.

_{Fuente: Imdb}

En este cúmulo de hechos pragmáticos conocemos a Jake (Colin Farrell), el padre de la familia a la que Yang sirve con tanto amor. Jake es un hombre dedicado al té, a las infusiones que tienen sabor a bosque, o al menos según él. Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) es su esposa, una mujer que busca cerrar lazos para olvidar lo que se ha perdido. El rol de la familia disfuncional resuena en silencio, como una conversación de señales. Mika, la hija, es lo que mantiene la rueda girando, aunque ya desgastada. Para empeorarlo todo, Yang sucumbe al apagado absoluto tras años interminables de servicio. ¿Qué pasa después? Esa es la esencia del film.

Y aquí la pregunta que tal vez todos nos hacemos en alguna ocasión: ¿Y ahora qué? Nos vamos adaptando a la realidad que nos persigue, sea buena o mala, pero la incógnita nos seguirá acorralando hasta el final. ¿Evolución? Quizás nos preocupamos tanto por el mañana que olvidamos en definitiva el presente: lo que realmente debe importarnos. Al contrario de la paradoja de las mariposas, nosotros nacemos y nos vamos siendo orugas, pues la metamorfosis humana radica en el progreso de la conciencia y la realidad, de lo que nos hace cambiar y crecer. ¿Y qué es eso que nos ayuda a evolucionar? Experiencias, relaciones… aprendizajes.

After Yang es una dura prueba para nuestro cerebro, una película de culto con una buena intención en su complejo mensaje. Imágenes hermosas recorren nuestros ojos como metáforas andantes, meticulosamente armadas para las mentes abiertas. Se nos muestra un mundo utópico, repleto de una generación futurista donde la clonación y la inteligencia artificial brillan con luz propia. Estos aspectos nos mueven por una historia que evoluciona con el recuerdo, o mejor dicho: los recuerdos.

En este sentido la ausencia es el punto más doloroso… más difícil de procesar. Ahora, creo que es el momento de plantear una nueva pregunta: ¿Cuándo dejamos de ser humanos? En el momento en que todo pierde sentido para nosotros, desde luego. Es tan difícil entender las razones por las cuales podemos perder el entusiasmo de vivir, de sonreír o aspirar la alegría de esas personas que están ahí para apoyarnos. Y entonces, al igual que Yang, nos apagamos para siempre aunque sigamos con vida. ¿Con que sentido? Quizás nada tenga sentido en este universo.

_{Fuente: Imdb}

Vuelvo entonces a plantear la idea de la identidad. Yang es un robot que no se siente completo, o no encuentra la forma de aceptar su propia naturaleza a pesar de que está programado para que otros la acepten. ¿Qué sentido tiene ayudar a otros cuando no encontramos un valor para nosotros mismos? Quizás eso es lo que nos hace felices: ver a otros sonreír, brillar… encajar. Podemos vivir la felicidad mientras la satisfacción de la empatía brille en los corazones. Yang, al menos en este aspecto, supo conmoverme.

Tenía mucho tiempo sin ver a Colin Farrell en la gran pantalla, incluso mientras veía la película intentaba recordar su nombre (Lol). Su rol como padre perdido fue en parte conmovedor, quizás por esa lejanía que sentí en su personaje con respecto al difícil entorno que lo rodeó en todo momento. Por otro lado, a Justin H. Min es la primera vez que lo veo como actor, y aunque su trabajo en la película no fue del otro mundo, hay que admitir que este actor tiene cierto encanto para encarnizar a un robot carismático y apacible. A lo largo del film, estos dos personajes cubren la historia, llenándola de mucha nostalgia.

A pesar de que el film es minimalista y lento, alberga los recursos necesarios para entusiasmarnos con una historia vigorosa. Lo increíble es que, a pesar de que los escenarios y los personajes son reducidos, la premisa se plantea de una forma tan inteligente que enamora. La ciencia ficción de After Yang es ingeniosa, sencilla pero a la vez compleja. A pesar de que se toca la idea de un futuro con androides, a un lado queda la desgastada noción de los robots que desean ser humanos. Esta vez, se trata de humanos que buscan su propia humanidad… ¿algo loco no? Aunque nada alejado de la realidad.

_{Fuente: Imdb}

Disfruté de After Yang hasta el último instante de la película. Fue una historia que me hizo pensar, reflexionar e incluso cuestionar. Es un buen largometraje, digno de apreciar. Aunque quizás el ritmo del film no sea del agrado de todos. En un punto me sentí en el limbo, encontrando respuestas a preguntas que tal vez el propio título no planteaba. Es lo vigoroso en esta obra maestra: nada tiene por qué tener un sentido a veces, incluso cuando parece tenerlo. Lo que sí es incuestionable, es la belleza cinematográfica del Film, relatada a través de los más pequeños detalles.

Si te gustan los largometrajes con una sinfonía hermosa a nivel cinematográfico, entonces After Yang es para ti. Este film logró enamorarme desde que vi una reseña y el recuerdo de otras producciones parecidas (como A.I. Inteligencia Artificial) llegaron a mi mente. After Yang, sin embargo, es una pieza única: una prueba de cerebro intrigante en todos los sentidos.

Para finalizar, vuelvo con la incógnita: ¿Qué nos hace humanos? En todo sentido, creo que es la capacidad de amar… al fin y al cabo, es lo único que nos mantiene en pie, hacia adelante, incluso cuando perdemos una parte importante de nosotros.

Poster Oficial

_Fuente:Imdb

Tráiler Oficial

English

_{Image edited in Canvas}

What makes us human?

Perhaps our indecipherable, complex, abstract and wild nature, programmed in what we call consciousness. So how human are we? The problem lies not in the fact of our human origin, but in the very questioning that surrounds the question. At first sight we are what we see in a mirror, what we reason and accept as part of our identity. Identity! Perhaps that is the correct word for so many unknowns…

But can anything have an identity? Even a robot? Interestingly, After Yang moves us through a host of paradoxes open to the sensitivity of reasoning. Living up to its title, the feature film poses tough questions about modern humanity, the inclusion of cultures, and the ties that don't last forever. Family? Friends? Love…? What is love when we don't feel complete? There is a reason why existentialism itself seeks answers to a mysterious, archaic and incomprehensible reality. We cling to the world, we cling to the company of others… When do we cling to true life?

Yang, the main axis of this film, is a representation of what dissatisfaction can mean, not with your body or your mind, but with the organic nature that is born, reproduces and finally dies. He is a techno, a kind of android programmed to bring Chinese culture to adopted Asian children. Yang was created to serve, instruct and love, something he does in spades every day of his scheduled… life? His most recent mission: Guide Mika, his sister, to feel identified with her original roots. As a complement to a family of different ethnicities, Yang will seek to forge bonds and renew memories with the most painful tool in existence: death.

_{Source: Imdb}

In this cluster of pragmatic events we meet Jake (Colin Farrell), the father of the family Yang serves with such love. Jake is a man dedicated to tea, to infusions that taste like the forest, or at least according to him. Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith) is his wife, a woman who seeks to close ties to forget what has been lost. The role of the dysfunctional family resonates silently, like a signal conversation. Mika, the daughter, is what keeps the wheel turning, albeit worn out. To make matters worse, Yang succumbs to complete shutdown after endless years of service. What happens next? That is the essence of the film.

And here is the question that perhaps we all ask ourselves on occasion: What now? We are adapting to the reality that persecutes us, be it good or bad, but the unknown will continue to corner us until the end. Evolution? Perhaps we worry so much about tomorrow that we ultimately forget the present: what really should matter to us. Contrary to the paradox of butterflies, we are born and we leave being caterpillars, since human metamorphosis lies in the progress of consciousness and reality, of what makes us change and grow. And what is it that helps us evolve? Experiences, relationships… learning.

After Yang is a severe test for our brains, a cult film with a good intention in its complex message. Beautiful images run through our eyes like walking metaphors, meticulously put together for open minds. We are shown a utopian world, full of a futuristic generation where cloning and artificial intelligence shine with their own light. These aspects move us through a story that evolves with memory, or rather: memories.

In this sense, absence is the most painful point… most difficult to process. Now, I think it's time to ask a new question: When do we stop being human? At the moment when everything loses meaning for us, of course. It is so difficult to understand the reasons why we can lose the enthusiasm to live, to smile or inhale the joy of those people who are there to support us. And then, just like Yang, we shut down forever even if we're still alive. In what sense? Perhaps nothing makes sense in this universe.

_{Source: Imdb}

I return then to raise the idea of identity. Yang is a robot who doesn't feel complete, or can't find a way to accept his own nature even though he is programmed for others to accept it. What is the point of helping others when we do not find a value for ourselves? Perhaps that is what makes us happy: seeing others smile, shine… fit in. We can live happiness as long as the satisfaction of empathy shines in hearts. Yang, at least in this aspect, knew how to move me.

He hadn't seen Colin Farrell on the big screen in a long time, even while he was watching the movie he was trying to remember his name (Lol). His role as a lost father was partly moving, perhaps because of the distance I felt in his character from the difficult environment that surrounded him at all times. On the other hand, Justin H. Min is the first time I see him as an actor, and although his work in the film was not from another world, it must be admitted that this actor has a certain charm to make a charismatic robot fierce and peaceful. Throughout the film, these two characters cover the story, filling it with a lot of nostalgia.

Although the film is minimalist and slow, it has the necessary resources to get excited about a vigorous story. The incredible thing is that, despite the fact that the settings and characters are reduced, the premise is presented in such an intelligent way that it makes you fall in love. After Yang's science fiction is ingenious, simple yet complex. Although the idea of a future with androids is touched on, aside is the worn-out notion of robots wishing to be human. This time, it's about humans looking for their own humanity... something crazy, right? Although nothing far from reality.

_{Source: Imdb}

I enjoyed After Yang until the very last moment of the film. It was a story that made me think, reflect and even question. It is a good feature film, worth appreciating. Although perhaps the pace of the film is not to everyone's liking. At one point I felt in limbo, finding answers to questions that perhaps the title itself did not raise. It's what's powerful about this masterpiece: nothing has to make sense sometimes, even when it seems to. What is unquestionable is the cinematographic beauty of the Film, told through the smallest details.

If you like feature films with a beautiful cinematic symphony, then After Yang is for you. This film managed to make me fall in love since I saw a review and the memory of other similar productions (such as A.I. Artificial Intelligence) came to my mind. After Yang, however, is a unique piece: an intriguing brain teaser in every way.

Finally, I return with the question: What makes us human? In every sense, I think it is the ability to love… after all, it is the only thing that keeps us going, forward, even when we lose an important part of ourselves.

Official Poster

_Source:Imdb

Official Trailer

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›'After Yang' by Kogonada Review: A beautiful reflection on life's fragility and memory@namiks1375d

After Yang is a film that has been sitting on my watch list for months now. I found the film having looked through actor Colin Farrell's recent works after watching through In Bruges for an unknown time. For some reason it got put aside and I completely forgot about it despite seeing some general praise for the film over the months. It is surprising that it did not get as much recognition as I believed it would given it holds the A24 title, though I suspect many present issues resulted in it getting a somewhat lackluster release where cinemas were mostly ignored and streaming services displayed little interest in obtaining some licensing rights for a while. Though having seen the film, I now believe it is a great shame that this may have been the case. This is one of the most simple and beautiful stories I have seen in a long, long time.

This is a soft, gentle film that focuses on the idea of memory and the loss of time, mixed with the elements of one struggling to find identity around parents that share multiple and different cultural identities, set within a futuristic world that seemingly is a more relaxed utopia. It shows how complex the human mind is in its attempts to find itself, which is made evident through the use of an artificial intelligence which plays a significant role in the film's development. It holds a lot of different themes and roams through several characters in a really beautiful way that shares humanity, empathy, and tries to understand the important aspects of life not just for us as individuals, but those around us that we live with.

After Yang takes an interesting look into the future where our lives may become seemingly more peaceful through the development and use of technology in our everyday lives, but shows a way in which the most important moments can also be lost as a result as we delegate responsibility to another, to something that perhaps does not feel or share the same emotions we do. Though in the case of this film: this piece of technology did feel and attempt to understand, and gave so much to a family that did not quite notice it until his presence was lost.

After Yang

After Yang is a film that portrays a family that have been relying on an artificial intelligence to handle the responsibility of dealing with their adopted Chinese daughter in her earliest years. We see very early on the influence this asian robot has had on her as she has grown familiar with his care and also his identity. As well as this, we see how a father has made work and his other obligations more of a priority given the adopted daughter does not need his care and attention as much. Yang experiences some faults and essentially is considered dead, but his memories are capabel of being viewed. The father attempts to get Yang fixed and realises it is not an option, and instead goes through these memories of Yang's to discover the life his adopted daughter has lived before him, completely unaware of the growth taking place over the years.

The film offers this really dreamlike cinematography and directing that places us into these memories from the perspective of Yang, seeing how the daughter has slowly developed and had the questions and struggles that any adopted child would have, as well as the additional ones regarding her own identity and attempts to understand where she comes from, knowing her adopted parents cannot quite help her with that. I really enjoyed the way this was presented, given the aspects of identity, loss, and struggles to understand the self were also reflected within the artificial intelligence which attempted to grow and understand alongside. There are these very philosophical aspects of the film that delve into the idea of what it means to be alive, and shows us how the present holds so much importance. The ways in which life continues on around us and how it does so whether you are watching or not. It shows the importance of memories that allow us to remember and reflect as this time passes by so quickly.

To add to these attempts to understand the self is a world that relies heavily on the Japanese minimmalist design. The world seems to be built around a culture and identity that none of the characters really share, but all live within willingly. The way the world is portrayed is actually very beautiful. Everything is clean, tidy, but very soft and quiet. There is this element of harmony that displays a world that is void of complication, but of course much complication is inevitable and comes from within due to the complexities of the human mind itself.

I do not want to get too into the narrative, and I have ensured there are no major spoilers though this is an easy film to generally spoil. I would much rather people read this review and decide to watch it themselves. I absolutely recommend it.

Beautiful Cinematography

Much of the film is shot under very dark tones, with anamorphic lenses on a digital sensor. The result is this very smooth, soft look to everything. The colour grading is somewhat faded and adds to this look. It makes the film incredibly dreamlike which contributes to the idea of consciousness and what it means to be alive. Everything moves in this slow poetic manner that makes you feel as if you too are just roaming through the memories of another as you watch life unfold. The cinematography and directing often shows us these montage sequences of everyday environments void of life, but full of it at the same time as we realise how life thrives within these locations at regular intervals. The same four walls, the one small corridor, or the perspectives we have when looking out of windows into the green and the natural.

The aspect ratio also changes in moments as it shows is direct perspectives of one character in dialogue with another. In fact, in many moments we see only one character with a relatively tight perspective in which the dialogue of others can be heard but not seen. We see how isolated the father is and has been and how he slowly becomes aware of it, as the scenes slowly open up more and he displays a more general presence within the lives of his family. In video calls with others specifically the aspect ratio changes and places us in the spot of the character they are talking to, making the dialogue and world more direct and limited. It was really creative to see, and certainly contribued to the immersion and connection I felt with these characters as the film continued with their stories.

As a contrast to these moments are the more open perspectives that come from the memories of Yang as he observed the family and the daughter, providing them with all he could. It was nice to see this appreciation for him even after he was gone, and the realisation of how important a role he played in the development of their adopted daughter. There was no assumption that the artificial intelligence was evil or pursuing any wrongdoing which is typically the case in films such as these. It was refreshing and nice to see the humanity displayed even to him, given the humanity that was present in his own artificial mind which bridges the gap between human and artifical. These elements of the film were given plenty of time as well, as we saw Yang's personal growth and struggles to also understand identity and reason behind his existence.

To match these beautiful images and concepts was not just wonderful lighting and set design, but a wonderful and relaxed score that amplified the fragility of life and the importance of understanding the present as a parent. The responsibility it has to capture every moment given the speed in which time passes, and the beauty and strangeness of life itself as we fail to understand it. Everything about the film just really pursued this delicate perspective of life and how it must be appreciated and taken care of. Kogonada is a director I had never heard of before, but after this I will definitely be looking out for more. This was by far one of the best films I have seen in a long time.

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›"After Yang" (2022) - Movie Review@shortshots1422d
What If Ex Machina was written by hipsters?

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2022's After Yang is about a futuristic tea-shop owner (Colin Ferrell) coping with the loss and learning the secret life of his family's long-time android Yang (Justin M. Min). I can't watch an android movie without comparing it to 2014's Ex Machina so this movie felt like a monotonous hipster stab at the genre that felt more concerned about cultural and social identity, rather than tackling the moral and practical aspects of science fiction.

From the get-go, it's very obvious that a large chunk of the budget went into crafting an organic, nature-oriented, wood-focused backdrop and wardrobe. This is a movie about rich futuristic vegan hipsters who claim not to fetishize Asian culture but wear modernized Qing-Dynasty garb, sit on the floor and eat ramen at noodle cafes, adopt a Chinese daughter, and purchase an android of Chinese features and knowledge. I imagine it as a secretly dystopian, solar-punk "utopia."

The main conflict of the movie is that the family android dies and their adopted daughter is distraught because her "big brother" and the only "family member" who looked like her is effectively "dead." Unfortunately, while this pain is understandable due to its alienating nature, most of the film focuses on the father played by Colin Ferrell, Jake, who learns that broken androids are returned to the manufacturer who harvest all its memories--which is a privacy breach. Imagine if your phone was constantly recording to you and every time you upgraded to the next iPhone, Apple studied thousands of hours of your life in order to better advertise to you? Incredibly creepy but strangely not the focus of After Yang.

Instead the film chooses to focus on Jake going through Yang's memories to see into his family life and also Yang's personal life. Being a stereotypically detached father figure, he learns that Yang has greatly helped with teaching Jake's daughter Mika about her identity as a Chinese person but also as a member of the family through the gardening concept of "grafting" which involves implanting a branch from one tree into a different tree to produce a hybrid fruit. He also learns of a Yang's semi-romantic relationship with a clone, Ada, of Yang's second owner who died in a car crash. These are touching moments but the emotional drama of the movie never seems to break the surface and you feel submerged in a lukewarm fever-dream for most of its running time.

Returning back to my mention of judging all android movies against 2014's Ex Machina, I couldn't help but see that After Yang doesn't ask any important questions about the nature of dangerous technology, the validity of android personalities, or just bring anything new to the sci-fi genre other than a eco-friendly hipster bore-fest. In Ex Machina, the film points out that human experience is understood as nuanced -- physical survival has been replaced with existential survival, the need to live being replaced by the why to live and the many avenues that is tackled by -- but for Ex Machina's android there is one objective: escape to society from an underground island-dungeon by outsmarting the immoral genius creator and the moral idiot visitor. Personality is not the core of an android's being, it is feathers, a means to an end, and such analysis is not at all attempted by After Yang.

It's a light-hearted movie about loss that could be set anywhere and doesn't really have anything to do with androids or the future. After Yang isn't exactly absolute trash but my final grade for this movie would have to be:

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2 more reviews

What If Ex Machina was written by hipsters?

If you're interested in more movies reviews by me, here's a list of my previous entries: