After Life [Criterion Collection] [Blu-ray]

A cast of professionals and non-professionals were brought together for this Japanese fantasy drama from 36-year-old Hirokazu Kore-eda, who previously made TV documentaries and explored death and memories in his 1995 drama Maborosi. Various souls arrive at a drab institution-like complex, a limbo between life and eternity, where they are treated in a friendly, businesslike manner. The 22 new arrivals include an elderly woman, an antagonistic punk, a teenage girl, and WWII veterans. They register at the front desk, receive individual briefings, and are told to select a key memory from their lives. Based on their descriptions, these memories will be reconstructed, filmed, screened for their approval, and given to them to carry through the afterlife. Other memories will be erased. Memories chosen by the group include childbirth, a dance lesson, a train ride, a Disneyland visit, sex, and a final cigarette. Kore-eda's scripting involved sending researchers to ask people the same question posed in the film. After Life was a success at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival, where it opened the New Beat of Japan sidebar. Shown at the 1998 San Sebastian Film Festival.