Elusive video-essayist-turned-filmmaker Kogonada blew me away with his 2017 debut “Columbus.” His hotly-anticipated “After Yang,” was greeted to rave reviews, from American critics, when it screened as part of Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section in July .Most other film journalists just shrugged it off. So did I. This was a tightly-controled, unassuming and ultimately very forgettable movie.
”After Yang” has Kogonoda teaming up with A24 to adapt Alexander Weinstein’s short story “Saying Goodbye to Yang.” This is a meditative sci-fi movie involving a father (Colin Farrell) and daughter who attempt to save the life of a robot family member after it stops functioning. The search for a cure leads them to a path that investigates not just the origins of the bot, but the secrets he’s held from them for so many years.
If his masterful “Columbus” worked so well due to its staggering beauty and simplicity, this latest effort from Kogonoda has too many ideas to contend with and a failed execution. As expected, some awe-struck visuals are on display, but not much to grab onto. The film grows and grows, but doesn’t attain the quiet greatness it so badly wants to achieve.
The film finished shooting in mid-2019. If it does get released next year then that would be a whopping three years since post-production wrapped. A24 has been very secretive about the film ever since Cannes. Despite the raves, it hasn’t screened at any other festival since then. I do expect it to show up at Sundance in January.
Edward Berger seems to have settled on what comes next. His Lance Armstrong biopic, starring Austin Butler, is now holding casting calls, with production eyed for January.