Colin Farrell and Director Kogonada on ‘After Yang,’ Their Visionary Sci-Fi Drama

Set in the near future, After Yang follows a family struggling with the malfunctioning of their beloved android, Yang (Justin H. Min), who they have come to rely on as a surrogate big brother for their adopted Chinese daughter, Mika (the young Malea Emma Tjandrawidjaja). A subdued Colin Farrell plays the father, Jake, a tea-shop proprietor who discovers the so-called technobeing’s surprising past as he tries to repair him. 

The second feature from Kogonada (who also directed 2017’s acclaimed Columbus) and adapted from a short story by Alexander Weinstein, this warm, unassuming sci-fi film proves to be among the finest ever made about Asian American identity, not to mention the latent memories and past lives, loves, and losses hardwired into us all. “We are all Yang,” as the Korean American director puts it.

With an original theme by legendary composer Ryuichi Sakamoto and another haunting melody (a cover of “Glide” from the 2001 Japanese cult film All About Lily Chou-Chou) performed by Mitski, After Yang arrives in theaters and on Showtime this week after premiering at Cannes last year and screening in this year’s Sundance Film Festival. Kogonada and Farrell spoke with Vogue via Zoom from their homes, each with a satisfied cat dozing in his lap. (When I note the cats’ appropriateness given the hushed ambiance of the film, Farrell jokes: “These cats are rentals. It’s just for the movie.”)

Vogue: The opening credits—featuring exuberant synchronized moves in a global virtual dance-off—are already being touted as among the year’s best. What were you going for?

Kogonada: There’s this film by [Yasujirō] Ozu called Early Summer where you see this family that’s really in sync. They’re having breakfast, they’ve done it a thousand times, and then the rest of the film is about the dissolution of that family. I’ve always loved that idea of seeing a family in sync, and this was a literalization of it. My choreographer [Celia Rowlson-Hall] put it in the most lovely way, that this was like a pop of confetti at the beginning of the film, and everything else was like the confetti falling down to the ground.