Director: Kogonada
Starring: Colin Farrell, Jodi Turner-Smith, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja, Sarita Choudhury, Clifton Collins Jr, Haley Lu Richardson
Distributor: Other
Runtime: 96 mins. Reviewed in May 2022
Reviewer: Fr Peter Malone msc

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Rating notes: Mild themes and coarse language

Unusual and quiet science fiction about artificial intelligence and androids who become part of a family and then the question of what happens when the android breaks down.

A quiet, very quiet science-fiction or futuristic fantasy which is an invitation to enter and explore a new era of Artificial Intelligence.

Who or what is Yang? We first meet Yang with his family, father and mother, mixed race, and the little daughter with visible Chinese ancestry. And Yang also seems Chinese. He is a young man, seemingly part of the family, pleasant and genial, at meals, happily conversing – with the quiet touch of inherited Chinese wisdom – a wonderful companion for the daughter, something of a tutor, something of a friend, to encourage her with her Oriental heritage.

While this future seems to be a future we recognise, we soon see many technological differences. And this is especially the case when we realise that Yang is a sophisticated example of robotics – the creation of a well-balanced person who resembles a human almost perfectly. But, the title indicates that there might be a crisis. What happens when Yang is no longer there.

The little daughter is almost inconsolable, despite the efforts of her parents to reassure her. The mother, a successful businesswoman, seems loving but somewhat detached, occupied with her work, having to go away from home. The father is devoted. He purchased Yang not from the accepted company which produces such androids but, one might say, second-hand (later learning a rather longer history of Yang’s presence). The main part of the action is the father trying to get Yang repaired, going to the company which will not help, sometimes using means prohibited by legislation, visiting the museum where a curator with specialist interests does her best to restore Yang – although, what is most valuable is the disc with his memories, visible when someone looks at them wearing specialist spectacles, something the father does often, with wistfulness.

And, all the while, there are pleasing flashbacks to Yang, to his friendship with the young woman and the father tracking her down, getting explanations.

Not exactly the material of fast-paced or action-packed pre-apocalyptic sagas. Rather, a gentle, if urgent, story, a family story, of loyalties and hopes.

The father is played by Colin Farrell, his Irish accent and all. His wife is played by Jodi Turner-Smith, the daughter by Malia Emma Tjandrawidjaja and the young girl is played by Hayley Lu Richardson.