After Life

In one of Hirokaz Koreeda's most tender and extraordinary films, the dead end up in purgatory suspended between life and eternity. Here they meet carers who help them prepare for the further journey. However, before they leave, they have to pick one most important memory and recreate it in the form of a movie. After the projection, the memory becomes their only trace — and they themselves disappear. “After Life” is therefore a film about the art of choice: a single image, a smell, a meeting or a brief moment that is worth saving from oblivion. Koreeda creates a vision of the afterlife that is not bound by religious dogma — deeply rooted in everyday experience. He is not interested in answering the question of what awaits us after death. Instead, he asks what of our lives deserves to be taken with us further. The director spent months talking in Tokyo with people he met by chance, asking about the most important memories. Their answers became the canvas of the script, some of the interlocutors Koreeda invited to the film set. Thus arose a documentary fantasy in which a fictional purgatory becomes a meeting place of individual and collective memory. Without one religion, without revelation, and without the certainty of what lies on the other side. There is only memory — and an attempt to save the most important from it.

The film is dedicated to the memory of Jagoda Murczyńska, a longtime organizer and programmer of Five Flavors, who died in February 2022.

In one of Hirokazu Koreeda's most tender and extraordinary works, the deceased arrives in a realm suspended between life and eternity. There, they meet guides who help them prepare for what lies ahead. Before moving on, however, each must choose a single cherished memory to be recreated as a movie. Jedan, that memory becomes their sole remaining trace — and they vanish, taking the rest of their past with them. After Life is thus a film about the art of choosing: a single image, a scent, an encounter or a fleeting moment worth saving from oblivion.

Koreeda crafts a vision of the afterlife free from religious dogma and deeply grounded in everyday experience. He is not concerned with what awaits us after death; instead, he asks what from our lives is truly worth carrying forward. For months, the director spoke to people he encountered by chance on the streets of Tokyo, asking them about their most cherished memories. Their answers became the basis for the screenplay, and Koreeda invited some of those he interviewed to take part in the film. The result is a documentary-like fantasy in which a fictional purgatory becomes a meeting place for individual and collective memory. There is no single religion, no revelation and no certainty about what lies on the other side. There is only memory — and the attempt to preserve what matters most.

The film is dedicated to the memory of Jagoda Murczyńska, a longtime programmer and organizer of Five Flavors, who passed away in February 2022.