AFTER YANG
★★★★
OUT 22 SEPTEMBER / CERT TBC / 96 MINS
DIRECTOR Kogonada
CAST Colin Farrell, Justin H. Min, Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja
A family of the future copes with the potential loss of their android helper in this gorgeously melancholic sci-fi drama, Columbus writer-director Kogonada using his premise to meditate on questions of memory, humanity, and nature versus nurture. If his vision is vaguely dystopian, it’s also cosmetically appealing — asleekly pancultural tomorrow of chic architectural design and warm gel lighting. At times serene to a fault, the ghost of a full-blown tearjerker gusts through After Yang. It’s most clearly felt in Colin Farrell’s subdued performance as a family man investigating the secret history of his “technosapien” — all while keeping his own wealth of feeling concealed behind a sleekly unperturbed exterior.