A24’s latest sci-fi drama, After Yang, shows a very strange minimalist future in which technology has superseded our desire or need for human connection. The plot of the film follows a suburban family’s never tiring attempts to repair their synthetic humanoid child named Yang, who short-circuits after a televised home family dance competition. With many movies about artificial intelligence, the creators like Kogonada (who directed After Yang) are simply trying to communicate to humanity in all of us. So, get your popcorn and tissues ready because we are going into the list of the 5 best movies like After Yang, about heartbreaking artificial intelligence stories.
Her
Synopsis: Set in Los Angeles, in the near future, Her follows Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a complex, soulful man who makes his living writing touching, personal letters for other people. Heartbroken after the end of a long relationship, he becomes intrigued with a new, advanced operating system, which promises to be an intuitive and unique entity in its own right. Upon initiating it, he is delighted to meet “Samantha,” a bright, female voice (Scarlett Johansson) who is insightful, sensitive and surprisingly funny. As her needs and desires grow, in tandem with his own, their friendship deepens into an eventual love for each other.
From the singular perspective of filmmaker Spike Jonze, Her, which won the 2014 Oscar® for Best Original Screenplay, is an original love story that explores the evolving nature—and the risks—of intimacy in the modern world.
Never Let Me Go
Synopsis: In his highly acclaimed novel Never Let Me Go, Kazuo Ishiguro (The Remains of the Day) created a remarkable story of love, loss and hidden truths. In it he posed the fundamental question: What makes us human? Now director Mark Romanek (ONE HOUR PHOTO), writer Alex Garland and DNA Films bring Ishiguro’s hauntingly poignant and emotional story to the screen. Kathy (Oscar® nominee Carey Mulligan, AN EDUCATION), Tommy (Andrew Garfield, BOY A, RED RIDING) and Ruth (Oscar® nominee Keira Knightley, PRIDE & PREJUDICE, ATONEMENT) live in a world and a time that feel familiar to us, but are not quite like anything we know. They spend their childhood at Hailsham, a seemingly idyllic English boarding school. When they leave the shelter of the school and the terrible truth of their fate is revealed to them, they must also confront the deep feelings of love, jealousy and betrayal that threaten to pull them apart.
Ex Machina
Synopsis: Alex Garland, writer of 28 Days Later and Sunshine, makes his directorial debut with the stylish and cerebral thriller, Ex Machina. Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson), a programmer at an internet-search giant, wins a competition to spend a week at the private mountain estate of the company’s brilliant and reclusive CEO, Nathan Bateman (Oscar Isaac). Upon his arrival, Caleb learns that Nathan has chosen him to be the human component in a Turing Test—charging him with evaluating the capabilities, and ultimately the consciousness, of Nathan’s latest experiment in artificial intelligence. That experiment is Ava (Alicia Vikander), a breathtaking A.I. whose emotional intelligence proves more sophisticated––and more deceptive––than the two men could have imagined.
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Synopsis: In the not-so-distant future, David, a robot with actual human feelings, especially a never-ending love for his “mother,” Monica, is adopted as a substitute for her real son, who, afflicted with an incurable disease, remains in “cryo-stasis.” David lives happily with Monica and her husband, but when the couple’s real son returns home after being cured, David’s life changes dramatically. Directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the short story “Super-Toys Last All Summer Long” by Brian Aldiss.
Wall-E
Synopsis: The highly acclaimed director of Finding Nemo and the creative storytellers behind Cars and Ratatouille transport you to a galaxy not so far away for a cosmic comedy adventure about a determined robot named WALL•E. After hundreds of lonely years of doing what he was built for, the curious and lovable WALL•E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. Join them and a hilarious cast of characters on a fantastic journey across the universe.
