7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
After death, people have a week to choose only one memory to keep for eternity.
Starring: Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naito, Kyôko KagawaForeign | 100% |
Drama | 71% |
Fantasy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.66:1
Japanese: LPCM Mono (48kHz, 24-bit)
English
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Trust the frequently questionable Wikipedia to have an entire "category" page devoted to films about the afterlife, which as of the writing of this review includes some 88 titles, with the film currently under discussion alphabetically at least the first listed. Some of the films on Wikipedia's aggregation are perhaps dubiously categorized as being "about" the afterlife, at least insofar as things are presented in After Life, even if all of the films have some kind of connection to characters who have died and what they experience after their deaths. Hirokazu Kore-eda both wrote and directed After Life, and Kore-eda's typically distinctive humanism comes through loudly and clearly, if just as equally kind of quietly and opaquely, in a film that seeks to offer a depiction of a kind of "bureau" that handles souls in "transition", in a setup conceit that is at least somewhat reminiscent of a similar gambit in A Matter of Life and Death. The idea is arguably much more developed in the Kore-eda film than it is in the venerable piece by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, with After Life documenting the efforts of "clerks" who have been tasked with getting recently deceased folks to choose one memory from their lives which the staff of the bureau will then recreate in a filmed version for that soul to "take with them" into eternity.
After Life is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.66:1. In lieu of an insert booklet Criterion provides an accordion style foldout with this release, one which contains the following information about the transfer:
After Life is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.66:1. Approved by director Hirokazu Kore-eda, this new 2K digital restoration was created by TV Man Union. A new digital transfer was created in 2K resolution on a DFT Scanity film scanner, from a 35 mm duplicate negative made from the Super 16 mm original camera negative, at IMAGICA Lab in Tokyo.This is an often impressive looking transfer, especially considering some of the shrouded interior scenes that are regularly utilized, though the Super 16 source and duplicate negative element can lead to some noticeably roughhewn moments with regard to grain resolution, as can be seen in screenshots 15 through 19. Things actually resolve relatively organically, but as can be seen pretty clearly in those screenshots, grain is fairly clumpy and yellowish, something that kind of interestingly tends to show up against both brighter backgrounds and scenes that are much more shaded (contrast, for example, the look of the grain in screenshot 16 with screenshot 17). There is a very slight skewing toward blue undertones throughout the presentation, but overall the palette looks nicely suffused. Kore-eda utilizes handheld imagery at several key moments, and the "jiggly cam" aspects can momentarily affect at least the perception of fine detail. I didn't notice any major signs of age related wear and tear. My score is 4.25.
The original monaural soundtrack was remastered from the digital master audio files.
After Life has a rather subdued sound design, and so the LPCM Mono track included on this disc offers more than capable support. The film is made up almost entirely of either the first person confessionals or similarly reserved dialogue scenes, typically between two characters. As Linda Erlich mentions in her commentary, there's virtually no music of any kind (and what there is is "diagetic"). Sound effects are also fairly mundane and sporadic. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.
Like many of Kore-eda's works, After Life is deceptively "quiet" a lot of the time, but ends up packing an indelible emotional punch. I'm frankly not sure the whole "filmmaker" aspect even needed to be included (especially since it seems like the "bureau" has "access" to people's memories, anyway), but even with that potential minor stumbling block, this is a beautiful film that I'd compare in a way to chamber music, in that it's intimate but complex. Technical merits are generally solid and the supplementary package enjoyable. Recommended.
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