5 Interesting A24 Movies Destined For Critical Acclaim In 2020

5. After Yang

Colin Farrell and (Queen and Slim's) Jodi Turner-Smith star in this futuristic drama about a father and daughter who have to save their robotic family member. That's the one-sentence doesn't-give-away-much blurb. Now we elaborate.

After Yang is based on a short story by Alexander Weinstein called Saying Goodbye to Yang from his collection of short stories Children of the New World. Received with positive reviews and, as you might expect, compared with Black Mirror, it is by turns funny, chilling and sad. After Yang sounds like it could be one of the saddest movies of the year.

Set in a world where robot children are purchased to act as live-in babysitters, a couple buys Yang, a Chinese big brother to help their adopted infant daughter Mika understand her cultural heritage. Things become complicated when, after several years, Yang begins to malfunction. Is Yang a robot that they can replace or is he more than that? A big brother and a son, Yang's state will force an audience to ponder about artificial intelligence.

After Yang is directed by Kogonada, whose debut film Columbus made the top ten lists of many critics in 2017. A regular contributor to film magazines like Sight and Sound, he gained renown for his brilliant video essays on cinema. We can't wait to see what such a keen eye does with this source material.