Afterlife Review

Afterlife portrays the waystation that exists between life and afterlife, the week immediately following one's death. The recently departed, with the help of counselors, must choose one memory to relive for all eternity. The memories which are retrieved as candidates range from the silly (a day at Disneyland) to the sublime (the overwhelming love and comfort felt when resting as a child on a mother's lap). What is truly fascinating is the reason this film was made. The screenwriter had witnessed his grandfather succumb to Alzheimer's Disease, watched as the rich tapestry of memories that made up his grandfather's life fade to only a few significant remembered experiences. This is a great film to watch with a group of close friends, because you will end up talking of hours afterward about the relationship between memory and life.

This film is in Japanese with English subtitles.