The souls of the recently deceased stay for a week in somewhat shabby but not unpleasant accommodations while trying to select their favorite memory from life. Case workers help them with this formidable task, and have the unenviable chore of then trying to recreate these moments on film. When each individual views the film and relives the treasured experience, they move on to a place where they're assured they'll have that recollection forever.
The opening of "After Life" is very promising, intersplicing the reflections of each of the newly departed (many of whom are played by non-actors, recounting their true life experiences). Though it's to the film's credit that the plot's crux raises an intriguing question and incites the viewer to analyze his or her own life in search of such a moment, this can be distracting, as the mind begins to wander when the onscreen characters' stories begin to get repetitive. Their anecdotes surprisingly fail to evoke the strong pathos they might so easily have elicited; though it's more authentic to convey the overall mundanity of life and the import of small gestures, it doesn't make for an exceedingly compelling cinematic experience. Furthermore, nothing sounds more depressing than amateur ghost filmmakers using scrounged props, low-budget special effects and last-minute improvised foley to try to illustrate one's most cherished memory. It would be very difficult to capture on film the complex elements of emotion that makes that memory so special, so it seems that this A/V project would only serve to dilute it. Also confusing is the fact that one man who's hard-pressed to select a memory is given videotapes of his life to review; if the Akashic Record is on VHS, why don't they just use that footage? Starring Arata and Erika Oda. Directed and written by Hirokazu Kore-Eda. Produced by Shiho Sato and Masayuki Akieda. An Artistic License release. Japanese-language; subtitled. Drama. Unrated. Running time: 117 min.