After Life (1998) Wandâfuru raifu (original title)

Director:

Hirokazu Koreeda

Writer:

Hirokazu Koreeda (writer)

Release Date:

17 April 1999 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy

Tagline:

What is the one memory you would take with you?

Plot:

After death, people have just one week to choose only a memory to keep for eternity.

Plot Keywords:

Memory | Eternity | Videotape | Disneyland | Heaven

Awards:

7 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Arata	...	Takashi Mochizuki, counsellor
Erika Oda	...	Shiori Satonaka, trainee counsellor
Susumu Terajima	...	Satoru Kawashima, counsellor
Takashi Naitô	...	Takuro Sugie, counsellor
Kyôko Kagawa	...	Kyoko Watanabe, Ichiro's Wife
Kei Tani	...	Kennosuke Nakamura, boss
Taketoshi Naitô	...	Ichiro Watanabe, who cannot choose his favourite experience
Tôru Yuri	...	Gisuke Shoda, who talks about sex
Yûsuke Iseya	...	Yusuke Iseya, who refuses to choose his experience
Sayaka Yoshino	...	Kana Yoshino, talks about Disneyland
Kazuko Shirakawa	...	Nobuko Amano, who talks about her affair with a married man
Kotaro Shiga	...	Kenji Yamamoto, who wants to forget his past
Hisako Hara	...	Kiyo Nishimura, old lady who loves cherry blossoms
Sadao Abe	...	Ichiro (as young man)
Natsuo Ishidô	...	Kyoko Watanabe as a young woman
Tomomi Hiraiwa	...	Receptionist
Tae Kimura	...	Dining Hall Worker
Yasuhiro Kasamatsu
Akio Yokoyama	...	Security Guard
Miyako Yamaguchi	...	Dining Hall Worker
Kazuji Araki	...	Dead Man
Kunio Endo	...	Dead Man
Michi Okuma	...	Dead Woman
Shinichiro Okuno	...	Dead Man
Yoshitaka Kaneko	...	Dead Man
Keigyoku Kane	...	Dead Man
Yone Kori	...	Dead Woman
Masaaki Kojima	...	Dead Man
Terumasa Takahashi	...	Dead Man
Chie Takamatsu	...	Dead Woman
Kimiko Tatara	...	Dead Woman
Toshio Nomoto	...	Dead Man
Nanae Hirakawa	...	Dead Woman
Taro Bundo	...	Dead Man
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Reila Aphrodite
Naruki Matsukawa

Directed by
Hirokazu Koreeda

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Hirokazu Koreeda		writer

Produced by
Masayuki Akieda	....	producer
Shiho Sato	....	producer
Yutaka Shigenobu	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Yasuhiro Kasamatsu

Cinematography by
Masayoshi Sukita
Yutaka Yamasaki

Film Editing by
Hirokazu Koreeda

Production Design by
Hideo Gunji
Toshihiro Isomi

Sound Department
Osamu Takizawa	....	sound designer
Osamu Takizawa	....	sound recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Yuzuru Sato	....	gaffer

Other crew
Linda Hoaglund	....	subtitler: English

Production Companies

• Engine Film
• Sputnik Productions
• TV Man Union

Distributors

• Peripher Film (1999) (Germany) (theatrical)
• trigon-film (2000) (Switzerland) (theatrical)
• Argentina Video Home (Argentina) (video)
• Artistic License (1999) (USA) (subtitled)
• Astro Distribution (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Connaissance du Cinéma (France)
• Mongrel Media (Canada)
• Primer Plano Film Group (Argentina)
• trigon-film (2005) (Switzerland) (DVD) (subtitled)

Also Known As:

"Wandâfuru raifu" - Japan (original title)

Runtime:

Brazil:118 min | Argentina:118 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Hong Kong:I | South Korea:All | Taiwan:GP | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Denmark:15 | France:U | Germany:o.Al. | Peru:14 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG

Company:

Engine Film

Trivia:

Was released on DVD in France in 2010, 11 years after its 1999 theatrical release in the country.

Movie Connections:

References Rebecca (1940)

A thought experiment for humanists (and for humanists only)

The Afterlife is best thought of as a kind of thought experiment, perhaps in the same vein as Groundhog Day. The point is not that this may be what we experience after death; it is rather that we need to think more about what it is in this life that we'd really like to keep with us forever.

This point needs emphasis. When asked what we want most in life, most of us will talk about our career, or a business venture perhaps, or some other accomplishment. This movie suggests that these kinds of things may not, at the end of the day, be so important as some other experiences we may have. In any case, it challenges us to rethink what it is we really value.

Some reviewers complain about the quite ordinary surroundings and "poor production values" of the movie. I prefer to think of the choice of sets etc as humble and realistic. Could any movie, whatever its budget, ever possibly do justice to this subject matter?

Much of this movie is devoted to explorations of the lives of a number of rather ordinary people, trying to identify their most cherished memories. Some reviewers have condemned The Afterlife as boring, boring, BORING on this account. It all depends on whether other people interest you. If all you want to see is car chases, sex, explosions, cool special effects,...avoid this movie. Only, it's worth noting that the lives and thoughts of others may help us to better understand ourselves. And nowhere more so than in this movie.