After Life

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After Life

1998,

1h 58m,

Drama

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Watchlist

88%

33 Reviews

Tomatometer

91%

5,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

33 Reviews

91%

Popcornmeter

5,000+ Ratings

In this acclaimed Japanese film, a group of people who have recently died find themselves in a limbo realm resembling a relatively mundane building. Counselors, including Takashi (Arata) and Shiori (Erika Oda), are on hand to help new arrivals pick one memory from their lives to bring with them into eternity. Once the memories are chosen, the staff makes a short film representing each one, and the films make up a collage of thoughtful cinematic moments.

Critics Consensus

After Life is an offbeat and tender exploration of memory, love, and life after death.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

4/4

[Kore-eda] has earned the right to be considered with Kurosawa, Bergman and other great humanists of the cinema. His films embrace the mystery of life, and encourage us to think about why we are here, and what makes us truly happy.

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Feb 28, 2023

Mixing real-life with re-enactments, Kore-Eda constructs a theory about what people would want to keep with and avoids the heavy-handedness of the subject.

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

Dec 6, 2021

7/10

Koreeda, with a testimonial base and documentary aesthetic, examines in an emotional way the ambiguous nature of human memories that, like cinema itself, form a hybrid between truth and fiction. [Full reveiw in Spanish]

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Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Aug 26, 2021

5/5

To picture a world in which "After Life" does not exist feels hollow.

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Aug 13, 2021

3.5/4

An intensely personal experience (I defy any viewer not to mull over their own choices after watching this).

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Douglas Davidson

Elements of Madness

Aug 10, 2021

Everything about the film evokes the notion of transition from the first shot to the last, instilling an atmosphere of wonder and personal contemplation.

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Kylo R

Jan 9, 2019

If in my after life I'd have a week to choose the best Hirokazu Koreeda movie I'd be in trouble. I would probably get stuck in that place for a very long time. That being said, would I choose this one? "Wandafuru Raifu"? I watched all of them and I can safely say no, this film is not my first pick, but even so is a very good tale and another confirmation that Koreeda is among my top five favorites directors! Domo arigato.

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Hermione W

Dec 19, 2018

After people die, they come to a place where people greet them and ask the deceased to find a memory. They're favorite memory to keep for ever. This process takes a few days, but when the most important memory is cleared out, it's recreated and shot by camera. This idea is terrific! I dig it. The dead people we get to know and the workers at the place are pretty interesting and so are the stories, but still this film feels a bit dragged for me. Talkative Japanese films are often hard to cope with, and throw in a vivid plot that demands attention and you are up for a hard film to digest. It looks good, it got a few moments, but it's also a bit repitative and grey. Few scenes lifts me, few scenes feel directly interesting. I'm a huge fan of Koreeda and a huge fan of fantasy-plots like this, vivid and smart. It never feels dreamy enough, kind of. The surroundings are a bit ordinary and gray and rather poor production values kills it a bit for me. It feels dated. Known to be one of his best works, but for me it's probably his poorest. I gave it a solid score for it's idea and shooting, but it lacks charisma and power. It does makes you appreciate life and think though. What is my best memory? 6 out of 10 cotton skies.

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Harry S

Sep 6, 2018

Weirdly executed but full of hilarious and oddly beautiful moments. This is a premise that seems nearly futile to pull off but Koreeda puts his genius touch on it making it a unique and layered experience.

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Theodore R

Nov 22, 2017

10/10 It all comes together in the most surprising and unexpected way due to Koreeda's hold on his story.

Hermione S

Mar 20, 2017

Expected alot and it wasn't that great.

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Hirokazu Koreeda

Director

Arata Iura

Takashi Mochizuki

Erika Oda

Shiori Satonaka

Susumu Terajima

Satoru Kawashima

Takashi Naitô

Takuro Sugie

Kei Tani

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Synopsis

In this acclaimed Japanese film, a group of people who have recently died find themselves in a limbo realm resembling a relatively mundane building. Counselors, including Takashi (Arata) and Shiori (Erika Oda), are on hand to help new arrivals pick one memory from their lives to bring with them into eternity. Once the memories are chosen, the staff makes a short film representing each one, and the films make up a collage of thoughtful cinematic moments.

Director: Hirokazu Koreeda
Producer: Sato Shiho, Akieda Masayuki
Screenwriter: Hirokazu Koreeda
Distributor: Artistic License
Production Co: TV Man Union, Engine Film Inc.
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Japanese
Release Date (Theaters): May 12, 1998, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA): $802.0K
Runtime: 1h 58m
Sound Mix: Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.66:1)

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