Purgatory Inc.

>> Hirokazu Kore-Eda's After Life takes a quiet look at the great beyond

by SCOTT C

Imagine having to sift through each and every one of your life experiences to find that defining moment that could be considered your happiest memory. Would it be a meal you enjoyed with family and friends? Perhaps a night of wild, uninhibited sex with a complete stranger? Or the innocence of a childhood crush?

Delving back into the people, places and things that have made up the fabric of your life and selecting a particular moment that you would like to live out for all eternity is the fantastic premise of Hirokazu Kore-Eda's After Life. Kore-Eda first came to international attention for his film Maborosi, which took highest honours at the Venice Film Festival in 1995.

After Life begins with what seems like a regular weekly Monday meeting between a supervisor and employees as they discuss the clients of the week before, and the increased numbers they'll have to deal with in the coming week. What we soon realize is that the clients of this business are the recently deceased who have arrived in this mundane state of limbo in order to choose that one important memory. Each dead person is assigned a case worker who helps the client to reconstruct the chosen memory down to the last detail. The memory is then recreated on film and screened for the client before they take that one moment to heaven to be relived forever.

The beauty of this film lies in how nonchalant Kore-Eda is in approaching such a tall order. The absence of a soundtrack is the perfect reminder that everyone in the movie has indeed passed on, while the absence of any special effects makes the premise a much more poignant possibility. After Life reminds me of weekend artistic retreats we used to go on in high school, where participants were encouraged to try and learn something about themselves as well as those around them. Through the various interviews between client and case worker, it becomes clear that the ponderings of the dead are essentially the same as the ponderings of the living. An old man remembers the kindness of American soldiers during WWII. An old woman recalls eating rice balls with strangers during the aftermath of a great earthquake. A young girl happily remembers a ride at Disneyland, but after being told that 30 other people have chosen the same memory, she's politely encouraged to come up with something a little more original.

Kore-Eda raises the question of life--and cinematic--recollection to soothing heights, while reminding us to enjoy what we have while we still can.

After Life opens Friday, Aug. 18