Always Good Movies

Direction: Kogonada
Country: USA

After Yang is the sophomore feature by South Korean director Kogonada, who presents us with another sensitive work after a tender, realistic debut with Columbus (2017). Yet, what he proposes this time is a sweet sci-fi drama film set in a mixed-race future populated by humans, techno-sapiens and clones. The filmmaker wrote the screenplay based on Alexander Weinstein’s short story Saying Goodbye to Yang, which tells the story of a family of three that mourns the loss of a certified refurbished robot. You can think of a somnambulistic intersection of elements and moods from Spike Jonze’s Her (2013), Alex Garland’s Ex-Machina (2014) and Maria Schrader's I’m Your Man (2021).

Exploring relationships, both human and non-human, the film fabricates disconsolate moments with a modest warmth, following a concept that, even posing some questions about human vulnerability and machine memorabilia, doesn’t really go further in its thematic exploration. Both the unfocused direction and unvaried tone of the film make it a drowsy experience, which, failing to be thought-provoking, is unlikely to lodge in your memory.

The idea is not totally unthinkable considering the technology-centered world we live in. However, this undercooked story never reached the beauty, or even the simplicity, of the images captured. Colin Farrell and Jodie Turner-Smith are simultaneously restrained and practical in their performances, with the film raising some concerns about the lack of a twist or an emotional boost.

Directed by Kogonada
Country: USA

If there is a recent debut feature that has been stirring a massive, positive buzz out there is “Columbus”, a drama with an exceptional architectural orientation, both materially and emotionally.

The film, written and directed by American-Korean Kogonada and shot over 18 days, stars Haley Lu Richardson as Casey, an architect wanna-be, and John Cho as Jin, a Korean-born American-raised translator. Both characters are facing severe family issues that keep them stuck in their personal lives. Can they help each other in order to escape the impasse?

Casey, an architecture enthusiast, forces herself to stay in Columbus, Indiana, to take care of her mother, Maria (Michelle Forbes), a former addict whose whereabouts are not always accurate. On the other hand, Jin postpones his return to Korea, where he works, while waiting for developments in the health state of his estranged, architect father, who is in a coma.

When not together - smoking in a corner, driving aimlessly throughout the city, or exchanging thoughts about their personal concerns and dreams - Casey and Jin occupy their time in different ways. She works at the local library, where she usually engages in a conversation with her co-worker, Gabriel (Rory Caulkin), a Doctoral student friend who slowly and prudently unveils his feelings for her. Jin often gets bored at home, revealing a hazy infatuation whenever Eleanor (Parker Posey), his father’s assistant to whom he was attracted in the past, is around.

Among graceful aesthetic shots, where architectonic structures and symmetries are given a special emphasis, Kogonada uses elementary filmmaking processes to highlight real people within an honest, plausible story.

Still, despite the narrative self-assurance and devoted performances, I found a few lingering, torpid scenes sculpted with strategic tonal approaches while the dialogue is leisurely rendered. It’s a mature script that reveals inconstant developments when brought into play, especially pace-wise.

Luckily, there’s a strong humane side that brims from the characters’ openness to give and receive unconditionally, restoring the possible gaps and quibbles of a minimalist drama that blends the merits of a stylish building design with the mighty powers of the heart.