Out of the clear white light, a few people emerge. Who are they? We are in an ordinary building with a blurred background. People are greeted by employees. It almost looks like a government building. They are told they are dead. The here and now is a stopover before it becomes final. They will spend a week here. During this time they are allowed to choose a memory from their lives. Not just any, but the most beautiful! This memory will be their life in eternity. They assemble a film out of it and take it with them. Everything else will be forgotten. This is the idea behind Hirokazu Kore-eda's After Life, a film so friendly and warm-hearted that it can join the ranks of the great humanists of cinema. What is the one great moment that constitutes a life? We are invited to explore it. One of the newcomers pretends to have only bad memories. A co-worker admonishes him to think deeper. Of course: A bad memory for eternity; that would be hell in the true sense! After Life doesn't need any special effects, bad choral music or similar swirls for this scenario. Instead, there's a lot of work: memories have to be collected and assembled into films. In this active zeal we recognize true happiness!
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