starring Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima
directed by Kore-eda Hirokazu
119 minutes
Japanese with English subtitles
Twety-two people arrive, after dying, in a reception center. They are tasked with telling the staff about their favorite memory. They are given a few days to make their choice. Their one memory will get recreated for them by the staff of the reception center. Their one memory is the only one that they will be able to take with them when they leave.
Some people have an easy time choosing, others do not. The people who work at the reception center are also people who died in the past, some recently, some not so recently. The movie is as much about the staff of the center as it is about the people who have just arrived there.
I heard about this movie and was led to it by two different podcasts at around the same time in Aug 2023. It took me a few months to get around to watching it. The movie was only mentioned on one podcast (PCHH) but a full episode was devoted to it on the other podcast (Bald Move).
The movie begins as a group of recently deceased people is arriving for processing. The movie end after they have moved on and the next group of deceased persons has arrived for processing. The two moments are similar but not identical.
The final act of the movie is just about the staff of the reception center.
I'm not sure what more I can say about this movie without going into all sorts of detail.
I knew the gist of the story, going in, but I wasn't sure where it would wind up. Arguably this movie is much more about characters, life choices, and the way people present themselves than it is about plot.
This is in some ways a very spare movie. It isn't splashy at all. The camera lingers quite often. I found the whole movie, but especially the final act, to be very moving. This movie probably won’t satisfy everyone. At no time did I lose interest but there were times where it veered in directions that ultimately felt like dead ends.
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