Hirokazu Koreeda’s After Life is an arresting and thought provoking blend of fantasy and documentary. Set in limbo, yet devoid of religious denominations, it is a halfway house for the recently deceased before they move on to their final resting place. Whilst in limbo each guest must choose one single memory to take with them that will then be recreated by the staff and played on an endless loop for all eternity. After Life might not be the best Japanese film ever made but it is certainly amongst my favourite.

Director, Koreeda, has repeatedly explored the themes of time, memory and death in his films but none more so directly than in this, his greatest work. It is a touching…

After Life uses a fantastical concept to accentuate its point, namely value inherent in our best memories. To do so it presents a waypoint between life and the afterlife, where passing spirits choose a single memory in their lives to take with them to the Great Beyond as they will forget everything else. What that exactly entails is vague, but the implication is that this is a critical decision for each to ponder carefully over.

And so lies a juncture in spiritual space, whose sole purpose is to facilitate such reflection. Once the memory is chosen the staff then recreates it on-film for the individual to see. At that point they depart, and we never see them again. Presumably it…

I'm a pretty happy-go-lucky guy. In general, I live for now and try not to concern myself with the past; I learn from my mistakes and move on with my life. At least that is what I always tell myself. Once in a while something like After Life comes along which makes me reconsider that which has come before.

There is honestly not a tonne to the film aside from the concept, and at times it even feels like a documentary since there are a lot of camera-facing, individual interviews, but the topic is a fascinating one. You are about to leave this Earth forever; what is that one memory you would take with you? You would lose all else…

I’m a recent uni grad. Your typical post-grad thrust into a highly competitive job market with little-to-no turning point on the horizon, funnily enough. Hardly a particularly unique woe, granted. But if there’s one thing that would make times more personally palatable when wading that foggy limbo between academia and adulthood, it’s to go through it amongst good people. And the real crime of my student days coming to a close isn’t that I may have to send in an extra dozen applications, it’s that I’m no longer around those very people I’ve become inseparable from. Even if we turn a blind eye to this whole global pandemic thing, the odds of getting all the gang back together for as…

The premise of the film, and the dialogues of the characters are both so thought provoking that me and my girlfriend had to pause the film (several times actually) to discuss our own favourite memories. Let's be honest. Is there even possible not spending time thinking about that one perfect memory when watching this film?

Although there are a lot of different characters in the movie, both newcomers and those working in "limbo", we have no trouble telling them apart. Each one is unique and irreplaceable, and I fell deeply in love with all of them. I guess the reason for this is that most of the memories the characters speak of are the actors' own real, actual memories. Many…

" When I was very small I remember on television I always wanted to watch the oldest films that I could find, I don't know why but seeing the world before my own existence was fascinating to me and I don't know how exactly that relates to dreams but it almost seemed like I was dreaming because it was something .. I was giving .. I was receiving visual information of something that didn't longer excited in our conception of time and history, so I remember from a very early age being very obsessed with old things, old movies .. And you know, I always think that going into a cinema to see a film is really a metaphor or…

On a cold winter morning, not long before the first snowfall, a group of people entering an old building make their way through the dense fog. In that place, already gathered, they are informed that they have recently died and that one last assignment must fulfilled; they have to choose only one memory of their lifetime which will be recreated especially for them. They have only three days to choose since this memory, and the emotions it evokes, will be the only thing that will remain within them in the afterlife, the rest of their life will be forgotten.

Based on this suggestive premise, Hirokazu Kore-eda proposes a reflection on life, its meaning, memory and oblivion. It's through an examination…

Although within subsequent years he has continued to provide audiences with heartbreaking family dramas within Still Walking and Nobody Knows, nothing under Hirokazu Kore-eda's own filmography has ever matched what he has provided in After Life - a deeply philosophical film about what happens the moment after one's passing. Within subsequent years, Hirokazu Kore-eda has already proven himself to be one of the most thoughtful filmmakers working today and with After Life, it is easy to see where such roots have emerged. After Life represents a sort of cinema that rings close to every last one of my sensibilities - and it moves me deeply.

After Life never directly shows what is happening in heaven just yet, but rather it…

If you ask a typical film viewer to name one example of excellent world building, they would probably say 'Avatar.' Not to criticise James Cameron, but in my opinion, turning what looks like a Wearhouse into what feels like an otherworldly hotel is much more impressive than creating a fantasy version of Africa on a desktop.

Kore-eda does so much with so little in 'After Life.' Each movement says so much, Each shot speaks paragraphs of dialogue. The performances are great across the board and Kore-eda proves himself to be an auteur, both in the direction field and screenwriting field. This is very much an experience, something transcendent, but even more special is the fact that it is so accessible.…