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Trailer & Full Film Watch for Hirokazu Kore-eda's "After Life" (1998)



SYNOPSIS: "If you could choose only one memory to hold on to for eternity, what would it be? That’s the question at the heart of Hirokazu Kore-eda’s revelatory international breakthrough, a bittersweet fantasia in which the recently deceased find themselves in a limbo realm where they must select a single cherished moment from their life to be recreated on film for them to take into the next world. After Life’s high-concept premise is grounded in Kore‑eda’s documentary-like approach to the material, which he shaped through interviews with hundreds of Japanese citizens. What emerges is a panoramic vision of the human experience—its ephemeral joys and lingering regrets—and a quietly profound meditation on memory, our interconnectedness, and the amberlike power of cinema to freeze time."
(Wonderful write-up/description via @nostalgicnippon)



I first watched "AFTER LIFE" in a local film festival, and subsequently snagged the VCD, but have yet to be able to procure a DVD for, having since watched the 1998 Japense feature film multiple times, with each repeat viewing tugging at my heart-strings and leaving me in constant wonderment. It is without hyperbole that I consider "After Life" as one of my TOP TEN FILMS in my watch-life, cheers.



To put it into a personal context: I had by then been working in the local media industry, first as a Set Designer in a local broadcast company, and subsequently as a Art Director and Production Designer for feature films, so the concept of the "angels as film-crew" and the studio production of the deceased dream(s), was such a hauntingly poetic one, coupled with my personal fascination(s) of "memory" and "life after death", made this a highly evocative film experience, which I constantly share with folks!

BUY ON AMAZON:
Buy Blu-ray (The Criterion Collection)
Buy DVD (The Criterion Collection)


But perhaps it would be more effective if they had a chance to watch it themselves...Full Film below (English subtitles are exceedingly small though, so go full screen to watch if possible):



The only other film directed by Japanese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda was 2005's "Nobody Knows" (Buy Blu-ray), which I watched but did not instantly recognise was his work ... as well looking forward to one day watching his 2022 feature "Broker" (Blu-ray) starring IU, which he wrote, directed and edited.

Other notable films include 2009's "Air Doll" (Buy Blu-ray / Watch on YT) and 1995's "Maborosi" (Buy Blu-Ray / Watch on YT).

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