After Yang turned out to be different than I expected. It’s billed as a heartfelt sci-fi, which it definitely is, but it really shines through the way it handles culture and the importance of sibling relationships. Warning that I will probably spoil this (but try to keep from revealing the main spoiler)! If you’d like to skip ahead to my rating, scroll down to the bottom of the page.
Summary and Review
We find out while watching After Yang that Jake and Kyra have bought what is essentially a big brother for their adopted little girl, who is Chinese. The big brother is a robot, something they find in a small, sketchy shop. He’s meant to help her connect to her Chinese roots, as he is a Chinese robot. Yang begins to teach her things almost like he is a library of ancient and present China. She learns about tea and about bamboo, general Chinese history. However, it becomes evident the more we watch that the main thing Mika learns from Yang is comfort and care. Affection, interest, connection – what she needs from a parent she gets from her older brother.
At one point Jake asks if Yang ever wanted to be human or wondered if he really was. Ada (a clone) answers that he never did and it was so typical of humans to wonder this, as if being human was somehow better. But then she adds: He did wonder if he was really Chinese.
I’ll avoid the biggest spoiler in After Yang, because it was beautiful to watch. Much of this film is about the process of finding meaning. There’s a lot of emotion and pain behind the people’s expressions and words, acted in these little moments.
If you haven’t watched it and enjoy introspective sci-fi, I’d highly suggest After Yang. It’s one of my favourites from last year.
You can watch After Yang on Hulu.
Rating: 4/5
If you’d like to read more of my film reviews and analysis, check out the cinema category!
