Based on the short story “Saying Goodbye to Yang” by Alexander Weinstein, “After Yang” is a sci-fi drama film. The story is set at an unspecified time in the future where most families have androids or techno-sapiens living with them, and cloning has been legalized. Jake (Colin Farrell) and Kyra’s adopted daughter, Mika, are of Chinese descent. Hoping to help her connect to her roots, Jake and Kyra obtain Yang (Justin H. Min), a cultural techno-sapien. Things are going well until Yang stops working one day. Jake later discovers that Yang has a device inside to collect precious memories for him.
As Jake begins to watch, he gets a chance to relive those moments. If you watched ‘After Yang’ and liked it, here is a list of recommendations for you. You can watch most of these movies similar to “After Yang” on Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime.
6. Bicentennial Man (1999)
“Bicentennial Man” may not be a well-received film, but it does a good job of portraying Isaac Asimov’s ideas for robotics on the big screen. And when someone with Robin Williams’ lineup leads the cast, the film is bound to have at least some redeeming qualities. Like “After Yang” and several other entries on this list, “Bicentennial Man” explores themes such as mortality, human existence, and love through the eponymous character, originally acquired by the Martin family to care for the household chores and maintenance.
5. Ex Machina (2014)
If “After Yang” and “Bicentennial Man” are optimistic visions of the future, “Ex Machina” is a cautionary tale. It revolves around programmer Caleb Smith, who visits his boss Nathan Bateman’s house and discovers that the latter has a gynoid with artificial intelligence. Nathan asks Caleb to test if the gynoid, Ava, can harbor real thoughts and consciousness. The story soon takes a darker turn as Nathan’s narcissistic and lustful behavior towards Ava and her maid Kyoko becomes apparent. As Caleb confronts Nathan, the latter warns him that Ava is manipulating him. Like “After Yang,” the science fiction in “Ex Machina” is grounded in reality and philosophy.
4. She (2013)
“Her” is a story about loneliness, artificial intelligence and the concept of love. Theodore Twombly is going to divorce. As he begins to feel more and more isolated, he establishes a connection with an artificially intelligent virtual assistant. “Her” and “After Yang” explore the fictional aspect of science fiction in a very grounded way. The AI that exists in these two worlds is not entirely fantastic.
3. Cloud Atlas (2012)
The Wachowskis have rarely done anything halfheartedly and uncomplicated, and “Cloud Atlas” is no exception. Based on David Mitchell’s 2004 novel of the same name, the film has multiple storylines, spanning across time and continents. Two of these scenarios take place in the future. One of them, set in 2144, is dystopian, while the other, set in 2321, is post-apocalyptic. “Cloud Atlas” is filled to the brim with observations on life beyond death, reincarnation, artificial intelligence, and human cloning, as is “After Yang.”
2. The Swan Song (2021)
“Swan Song” is a love letter from a dying man to his wife. After being diagnosed with an incurable disease, Cameron, a loving father and husband, decides to spare his family the pain of watching him die and agrees to be replaced by a healthy clone. But severing ties with the past and coming to terms with mortality are some of the hardest choices one can make, and Cameron struggles as one would expect. While “After Yang” examines grief and mortality through the perspective of family members, “Swan Song” focuses on the person who is about to die.
1. AI Artificial Intelligence (2001)
“AI Artificial Intelligence” is one of Steven Spielberg’s lesser-known creations, but over the years it has become one of the best films of the 21st century. It was originally supposed to be directed by Stanley Kubrick, but he kept postponing it because he felt that David, the titular protagonist, could not be portrayed convincingly by any child actor and contemporary CGI could not be played. was not advanced enough. After Spielberg took the helm and Haley Joel Osment was cast, magic happened. Like “Bicentennial Man” and to some extent “After Yang”, “AI Artificial Intelligence” is a reimagining of “The Adventures of Pinocchio”. It also explores the notion of mortality like the other entries on the list.
Read more: After the end of the Yang, explained: what happens to the Yang?
