(aka 'Wandafuru raifu' or 'After Life' or 'Afterlife' or 'Wonderful Life')
directed
by Hirokazu Koreeda
Japan 1998
| The second feature from the maker of the exquisite Maborosi returns to the theme of the relationship between life and death, but reverses the perspective. It is set in a limbo that looks like a slightly shabby school, where counsellors help new arrivals choose their most precious memory which is then recreated on a film to accompany them to eternity. The movie is about how we look back and make sense of our lives. With a strong documentary feel (many of the cast are non-professionals evidently drawing on personal experience), the film succeeds partly as an amusing and richly affecting portrait of what constitutes happiness for a wide range of modern Japanese; it is also, in passing, a little tribute to the way cinema connects with our dreams. Most poignantly, however, as it charts a revelatory encounter between a counsellor and one of his charges, it offers a subtle tribute to the healing power of love. |
Posters (Click far right poster to enlarge)
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Theatrical Release: September 11th, 1998 - Toronto Film Festival
Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews
DVD Comparison:
New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC
Big thanks to Trond Trondsen of Masters of Cinema.org for the Bandai Screen Caps!
(New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - RIGHT)
| DVD Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
New Yorker Region 1 - NTSC |
Bandai (Japan)
Region 2 - NTSC |
| Runtime | 1:58:28 | 1:58:40 |
| Video |
1.53:1 Cropped |
1.66:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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| Bitrate:
New Yorker
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| Bitrate:
Bandai |
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| Audio | Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
Japanese (Dolby Digital 2.0) |
| Subtitles | Yellow - English (non-removable) | English, Japanese and none |
| Features |
Release Information: Studio: New Yorker Films
Aspect Ratio: DVD
Release Date: August 29, 2000
Chapters 8 |
Release Information: Studio: Bandai (Japan) Aspect Ratio:
DVD
Release Date: March 28th, 2003 Chapters 8 |
| Comments: |
The New Yorker disc is
quite cropped on the left edge and is not as sharp as the Bandai
release. I also see some contrast boosting in the Region 1 and quite a
lot of film grain the anamorphic Region 2. The New Yorker disc has
burned in yellow subtitles. DVDBeaver recommends the Region 2 Bandai
release which is an easy winner over the New Yorker.
The film was shot on 16
mm(*), and it shows (and it should show). In an attempt to clean up
the associated graininess, New Yorker has apparently run the film
through a digital low-pass (smoothing) filter, causing a general
blurring of the image and a lower required bitrate. To
compensate for this decrease in sharpness, New Yorker then applied
edge enhancement, which only serves to cause further ugliness (see for
example the "halo" around the back of the chair in the first
screenshot below).
(*) The final sequence
of the film, when the memories are projected, are presented in vivid
35 mm, in contrast to the intentional "cinema verite" feel
of the 16 mm used for the bulk of the film.
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Recommended Reading for Asian Film Fans (CLICK COVERS or TITLES for more information)
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The Japan Journals : 1947-2004, by Donald Richie |
The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp |
Kon Ichikawa (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs) by James Quandt, Cinematheque Ontario |
Shohei Imamura (Cinematheque
Ontario Monographs, No. 1) by James Quandt |
Eros Plus Massacre: An
Introduction to the Japanese New Wave Cinema
(Midland Book, Mb 469) by David Desser |
The Films of Akira Kurosawa by Donald Ritchie |
by Yasujiro Ozu, Kogo Noda, Donald Richie, Eric Klestadt |
Ozu by Donald Ritchie |
A Hundred Years of Japanese Film by Donald Richie |
Check out more in "The Library"
DVD Menus
(New
Yorker
- Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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Screen Captures
(New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - RIGHT)
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(New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
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(New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
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(New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
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(New Yorker - Region 1 - NTSC - TOP vs. Bandai - Region 2 - NTSC - BOTTOM)
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Report Card:
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Image: |
Bandai |
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Sound: |
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| Extras: | - |
| Menu: | Bandai |
| DVD Box Covers |
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| Distribution |
New Yorker Region 1 - NTSC |
Bandai (Japan)
Region 2 - NTSC |
Mail cheques, money orders, cash to: or CLICK PayPal logo to donate!
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Gary Tooze
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Many Thanks...
