After Life (1998)

Original title

ワンダフルライフ

Directed by

Hirokazu Koreeda

Genre

fantasy film, drama film

Country

Japan

Runtime

1h 58m

Rated

NR

Rating

7.2 of 10 from 286 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

After death, people arrive at a waystation where they are asked to choose one memory to keep for eternity. Staff help them sift through their lives and recreate the memory on film.

contemplativegentlepoignantquietreflectivetenderthought-provokingmelancholic

What happens

After Life, known in Japan as Wonderful Life (ワンダフルライフ, Wandafuru Raifu), is a 1998 Japanese film edited, written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda starring Arata, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Sayaka Yoshino among other regarded cast members. It premiered on 11 September 1998 at the 1998 Toronto International Film Festival and distributed in over 30 countries, bringing international recognition to Kore-eda's work. The film was also shown at the 1998 San Sebastián International Film Festival, where it won the FIPRESCI prize "for its universal theme, its empathy for nostalgia and its homage to cinema as transcending life". The film received seven awards and eight nominations worldwide. In August 2021, The Criterion Collection announced a re-release of the film, in a 2K remaster together with interviews, deleted scenes, audio commentary and an essay by novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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