Despite the components that require us to suspend disbelief, a fantasy or science fiction project’s success is frequently determined by how grounded its narrative is.
‘After Yang,’ the sophomore film from ‘Columbus‘ filmmaker Kogonada, smacks the ball out of the park in this aspect. It’s a storey about bereavement, sentience’s complexities, and life beyond death.
Despite the fact that the film has a short runtime i.e just over 1.30 hours, it builds its plot with great care. Almost every scene has the camera lingering, telegraphing the characters’ feelings.
Here’s everything you need to know about ‘After Yang’s’ ending.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD.
‘After Yang’ (2021) Plot Synopsis
‘After Yang‘ features one of the most naturalistic depictions of the future ever seen in movies and television shows. However, it isn’t always idealistic.
Despite the fact that the film is almost entirely centred on one family, it is clear that certain contemporary issues have managed to persist and even evolve.
‘After Yang’s’ science also appears to be an evolved version of what we have now. Human cloning has been permitted, and society has become even more dependant on technology.
Families often have robotic companions who stay with them for a lifetime or longer. These manufactured entities have also been given politically correct names.
They are known as techno-sapiens, implying that much research has been conducted on their memories and intelligence.
‘After Yang‘ is about a four-person family. Jake (Colin Farrell) owns a tea store, but Kyra (Jodie Turner-Smith), his wife/partner, appears to be a corporate employee.
Mika (Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja), their adopted daughter, is of Chinese descent, so they have hired Yang (Justin H. Min), a cultural techno-sapien, to teach her about her roots.
Unfortunately, Yang shuts down during a simulated mass dance competition. He was created by Brothers & Sisters Incorporated, but because Jake didn’t buy him new, he can’t get him maintained by the firm, at least not without paying a hefty price.
He does have a guarantee from the shop where he purchased Yang, but it is no longer valid.
After that, Jake brings Yang to a Brothers & Sisters-affiliated repair shop. They charge him a substantial sum only to conduct diagnostics and inform him that Yang’s core processor has been damaged.
They go on to say that the only thing they can do is transform Yang into a virtual assistant or recycle him entirely. Unfortunately, Yang has assimilated into his family as a son. As a result, Jake frantically searches for a way to reactivate him.
Jake goes to a cheap repairman and conspiracy fanatic named Russ on the advice of a neighbour, who discovers something inside Yang that he thinks is a surveillance camera.
Jake then brings the gadget to a techno-sapien museum, where an expert, Cleo, discloses that it’s Yang’s memory bank, where he’d saved all of his significant memories.
Jake discovers, while digging through Yang’s memories, that there was someone else in Yang’s life besides their family – a mysterious young woman whose name is subsequently revealed to be Ada (Haley Lu Richardson).
‘After Yang’ (2021) Ending Explained
‘After Yang‘ is a film about both loss and acceptance. Jake’s desire to resurrect Yang isn’t only motivated by his concern for Mika, who has become increasingly antagonistic since Yang’s demise.
As a son, he actually learned to adore the techno-sapien. This is especially evident when Jake has access to Yang’s family’s memories. It’s impossible to overestimate the impact of these scenes.
Yang’s loving recollections of Jake and Kyra are relived by Jake and Kyra, allowing them to relive those priceless moments they experienced with a person who is now gone.
Jake and Yang have a long conversation about tea about halfway through the film. Jake admits he’s never been a fan of the flavour. The experience, the smell, and the refined culture associated with it were first what attracted him in.
“A glorious sci-fi stunner.” (Indiewire)@A24 and @Showtime present AFTER YANG, from visionary filmmaker @Kogonada. Starring Colin Farrell, @MissJodie, and @JustinHMin — March 4 pic.twitter.com/6jB9qQtiBD
— After Yang (@afteryangmovie) February 1, 2022
Yang responds that he wishes he had a genuine connection to tea rather than merely knowing infinite facts about it. The scenario emphasises the tie between these two figures, demonstrating that it was no less powerful than a parent’s attachment with their human children.
When Kyra puts on the glasses and receives access to Yang’s memory archives, similar topics are explored. She is transported back to a time when she and Yang were discussing Yang’s butterfly collection. As the talk proceeds, it becomes increasingly focused on mortality.
After learning the scope of Yang’s recollections, Jake and Kyra decide to save them and delegate Cleo’s research to her. However, they will not allow it to be displayed in the museum.
Mika tells her father that she doesn’t want to lose Yang in the last scenes, and Jake responds that he doesn’t either. This appears to contradict Jake and Kyra’s earlier decision. Death and the afterlife, on the other hand, are key themes in the film’s plot.
Yang is no longer with us, yet he is not need to be replaced. His family has the ability to relive them at any time. And that, in and of itself, is the perpetuation of life.
He’s not going to vanish into thin air. Jake, Kyra, and Mika – his third family — have kept a piece of him.
Who Is Yang’s Alpha Memory’s Woman? Why Do she and Ada have such a striking resemblance?
Jake learns from Yang’s prior owner that she isn’t Jake’s original owner. Yang’s recollections with various families are discovered to be preserved in various archives of his memory bank.
The memories he created with Jake, Kyra, and Mika are kept in the Gamma Archive, whereas the memories he created with the other family are kept in the Beta Archive. Yang remained with them for approximately a week, so this is the tiniest one.
The Alpha Archive holds the memories he shared with his first family over the course of his existence. He assisted a single mother in raising her child and stayed with her when she moved into a nursing facility.
One family will do anything to save their AI sibling. Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Justin H. Min stun in @Kogonada’s sci-fi AFTER YANG from @A24. Streaming now on SHOWTIME.
— SHOWTIME (@Showtime) March 4, 2022
There, he met the woman’s niece, Ada, who had the same name as him. They became closer, and a deep connection formed between them.
Ada, on the other hand, was killed in a vehicle accident. The Ada of Jake’s time is a clone and great-niece of the original Ada.
Yang never honestly told the current Ada about their connection, but their bond establishes some of the film’s core themes. Even if only for a short time, its existence defied grief, death, and mortality.