Speak Film and Enter · Nate Johnson, Dylan Watson, and Adam Borremans

Episode 641: After Life (1998)

·1 hr 7 min·5 clips

After death, you have one week to choose a single memory to keep for eternity—how would you decide?

This episode of Speak, Film, and Enter features hosts Nate, Dylan, and Adam reviewing the 1998 Japanese film *Afterlife*, directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. The hosts are film enthusiasts who regularly analyze and rank movies on their podcast. The film presents a premise where, after death, individuals have one week to select a single memory to keep for eternity. Adam highlights Kore-eda's filmography, including *Shoplifters* and *Nobody Knows*, and notes the film's original Japanese title is *Wonderful Life*. The hosts discuss the movie's critical reception, including an 89% Rotten Tomatoes score and its placement at number seven on an IndieWire list of the best 1990s films. They describe the plot's structure, which follows 22 recently deceased people being interviewed by staff at a bureaucratic waystation to choose their eternal memory. A significant portion of the episode covers the film's middle section, where the staff meticulously recreates the chosen memories as short films for the clients. The hosts note that the movie never shows these finished films, focusing instead on the production process and the characters' reactions. The conversation shifts to the third act, where the narrative focus narrows to two staff members: a young woman who likely died young and a man who died in war decades earlier. They explore the man's backstory, revealing he has been searching for closure regarding a lost love for over 50 years. A memorable scene involves the young woman in a long take, wordlessly expressing frustration by kicking snow. The hosts analyze a poignant moment where the male staffer's chosen memory is revealed to be a simple moment sitting on a bench with his coworkers. They discuss supporting characters, like an utterly self-assured elderly woman and a defiant 21-year-old who refuses to choose a memory and instead joins the staff. The film's philosophical questions are examined, such as whether it is better to forget or to have never known, prompted by a line stating "heaven is forgetting." The hosts compare *Afterlife* to later films it influenced, like *Soul* and *Nine Days*, noting its disinterest in fantasy world-building. They appreciate how the film uses weather and nature, like falling leaves and snow, to enhance its emotional tone. The episode's tone is conversational, analytical, and reflective, as the hosts share their personal reactions and interpretations. Listeners who enjoy quiet, humanist dramas, philosophical concepts, and discussions of cinematic craft would love this episode. Those preferring fast-paced plots or definitive narrative resolutions might find it too slow or abstract.

As heard by us

A warm Kore-eda conversation that values images, structure, and feeling more than debate.

Speak, Film, and Enter starts with Afterlife from 1998 and its simple but thorny premise: after death, each person gets a week to keep only one memory forever.

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Why you'd press play

A calm companion for a film where the afterlife means choosing one memory to keep forever.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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