Sporting an irresistible premise (the film's tagline reads: "What is the one memory you would take with you?"), After Life--which takes place at a way station somewhere between Heaven and Earth for the newly deceased--wisely (and plausibly, I think) emphasizes the prosaic and fleeting rather than the momentous and destiny-altering. Indeed, the entire first half of the movie is basically a series of variations on Everett Sloane's nostalgic monologue in Citizen Kane: "I only saw her for one second; she didn't see me at all; but I'll bet a month hasn't gone by since, that I haven't thought of that girl." Reportedly, half of the actors playing the deceased are pros reciting invented lines, the other half amateurs genuinely reminiscing; it's a testament to the film's remarkable fluidity that it's impossible to categorically place most of the performers in one group or the other. After Life looks great, too, with director Kore-eda Hirokazu making the most of his rather dingy--and decidedly terrestrial-looking--purgatory, alternating between simple medium close-ups (for the interviews) and brief, evocative long shots (for scenes of the staff at rest, generally at night). Alas, the plot eventually kicked in, and I watched in growing bewilderment as the employees went about re-creating the chosen memories on film, presumably so that the director could make a few observations about the relationship between memory and cinema. These turn out to be less than super-revelatory, frankly, though as an elegant thought-provoker regarding which moments of our lives we most value and cherish, this is still highly recommended. (M. D'Angelo)
[Blu-ray/DVD—Aug. 17, 2021—Criterion, 119 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95] Making its latest appearance on DVD and debut on Blu-ray, After Life (1998) joins the Criterion Collection with a new 2K digital restoration that is noticeably better than previous VHS/DVD releases. Extras include audio commentary featuring film scholar Linda Ehrlich; new interviews with Kore-eda, stills photographer–cinematographer Masayoshi Sukita, and cinematographer Yutaka Yamazaki; deleted scenes; and a booklet with an essay by novelist Viet Thanh Nguyen (The Sympathizer). Bottom line: Kore-eda’s fantasy classic sparkles on Blu-ray.]