The Cinematheque

New Restoration

“One of the most beautiful and profound films to emerge from Japan during the past decade.”

Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune

Additional screenings added!

Humanist filmmaking at its absolute best, Kore-eda Hirokazu’s miraculous sophomore feature has its roots in fantasy, despite its documentary feel, but is all the more humane for it. The breakthrough work of the now-reigning Japanese auteur gives us a group of caseworkers whose job it is to receive the newly deceased and help each of them define and recreate a moment of personal bliss. Each new arrival has one week to come up with a memory to savour for eternity; if they fail or choose not to, they remain in Limbo. ​“After Life​’s high-concept premise is grounded in Kore‑eda’s documentary-like approach to the material, which he shaped through interviews with hundreds of Japanese citizens. What emerges is a panoramic vision of the human experience—its ephemeral joys and lingering regrets—and a quietly profound meditation on memory, our interconnectedness, and the amberlike power of cinema to freeze time” (The Criterion Collection).

The October 17 screening of After Life will include ​“Family Matters” opening remarks by Shaun Inouye, The Cinematheque’s Programming Associate.

“Brilliant, humorous, transcendently compassionate.”

Stephen Holden, New York Times

“Kore-eda Hirokazu’s understated masterpiece is one of the great films about death and filmmaking itself.”

Jake Cole, Slant