- Actors: Arata, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naitô, Kyôko Kagawa
- Directors: Hirokazu Koreeda
- Writers: Hirokazu Koreeda
- Producers: Masayuki Akieda, Shiho Sato, Yutaka Shigenobu
- Language Japanese
- Classification: PG
- Studio: Ica
- VHS Release Date: 23 Oct 2000
- Run Time: 118 minutes
- Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
- ASIN: B00004WIAR
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 12,688 in Video (See Top 100 in Video)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Without special effects, corny music or any flashy visual jiggery-pokery whatsoever, former documentary-maker Hirokazu Kore-eda's elegantly discreet drama manages to be one of the most haunting films ever made about life after death. The action unfolds in what looks like (and is, in real life) a disused school, powdered with the first winter snows. This is Limbo, a sort of dole office cum movie studio, where a group of clerical workers process the recently dead. Their task is to help each recently deceased choose one memory from their life to take with them into all eternity, a memory the will help recreate with props and jerry-rigged sets, for the celestial video records. Those who can't choose a memory, like Arata (Takashi Mochizuki), must stay on to help the new arrivals until they decide.
Kore-eda's last film, Maborosi, was concerned with a woman coming to terms with her husband's suicide, and had a blackened mournful palette to match its subject. Ironically, After Life is a sunnier, warmer movie, full of delightfully unforced performances by its largely non-professional cast, many of whom are "playing themselves" having been culled by interviews Kore-eda conducted during development. The leisurely pace leaves one unprepared for the sudden stabs of emotion and drama that eventually puncture the placid surface. All in all, it easily puts such nauseating Hollywood kitsch as What Dreams May Come to shame, and leaves one pondering its teasing central question: what moment would you choose? --Leslie Felperin
From the Back Cover
At a way station somewhere between Heaven and Earth,the newly dead are greeted by guides. Over the next three days, they will help the dead sift through their memories to find the one defining moment of their lives.
The chosen moment will be recreated on film and taken with them when the dead pass on to heaven
This poignant, beautifully-crafted film reveals the surprising and ambiguous consequences of human recollection.
The chosen moment will be recreated on film and taken with them when the dead pass on to heaven
This poignant, beautifully-crafted film reveals the surprising and ambiguous consequences of human recollection.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful,
By
This review is from: After Life [VHS] [1999] (VHS Tape)
This is a quietly brilliant film. Somehow, nothing seems remotely unlikely about the films central premise, it seems totally reasonable due to the perfectly judged performances. There is a wonderful tranquility about the film, it is beautifully shot, its only visual trick is good use of light which is all that is required. While the visual brilliance of directors such as Darren Aronofsky and Wong Kar-Wei is very much appreciated, and effects are rarely used superfluously, the same kind of treatment would overpower this film. The script raises questions without ramming them down your throat, suggesting 'maybe you might want to think about this', and is definitely a film about celebrating life, not worrying over death.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A joy,
By
This review is from: After Life [1998] [DVD] (DVD)
This is a masterpiece of quiet simplicity. Eschewing the swirly white lights and special effects of other films about the after life, it builds slowly to a beautiful conclusion. Profound and thoughtful without ever being sententious or heavy, it celebrates the beauty of the ordinary. A film that stays with you long after other, flashier films are forgotten
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
a spiritual experience,
By
This review is from: After Life [1998] [DVD] (DVD)
This is a profound meditation on death, memory, love and cinema. Beautifully shot, evocatoive and atmospheric; the actors live the part rather than act and the dialogue is sheer poetry.
A flawless gem of a film. A spititual experience that demands deep contemplation about the meaning of our lives and what we leave behind when we leave
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