"Really? You can forget? Well,
then that really IS heaven!"
The first time I watched 'after life' was with my mother years ago and we both loved it. When I created this blog and was looking for my first film to post she and I thought of this one but could not remember the name of it. Last month I was lucky enough to stumble across it.
I watched it again with my partner David about a week ago and since then have found myself pondering the question that all the characters in the film had to answer :
If I could choose only one memory to take with me into the after life what would that one memory be?
As David and I hiked this last weekend through the wintery woods of New England we spent most of our time thinking back about our lives and sharing some of our peak moments. We then discussed whether we might choose one of these memories and if yes or no or possibly-why or why not?Even though I don't believe in an afterlife , I have now spent many hours searching for that one special memory and can commiserate with the struggle that so many of the film's characters underwent to reach their conclusion. And they only had three days!
If any of you have thought about this since watching the movie would you care to share a part of that process with the rest of us? Do you think you would be able to narrow it down to one memory if push came to shove? Or might you spend a whollota time working at the way station as did Mochizuki? Would you refuse as did 21 year old lIseya? Did you (or do you think you would?) find the effort painful (as did Watanabe), pleasurable or as in my case a mixture of both?
Any and all responses to this film on whatever level would be most appreciated.
21 comments:
My day at Putnam Pantry, ice cream party, on my 11th birthday.
I used to LOVE going to Putnam Pantry! Does it still exist? THe one in Danvers,MA doesn't seem to be there any more. Good choice anonymous!
This makes me want to go find out what a Putnam Pantry is. Sounds like I've been missing out!
Quick note:
Mochizuki's full name is
Given name: Takashi
Family name: Mochizuki
Shiori's full name is
Given name: Shiori
Family name: Satonaka
Mochizuki's name: "Takashi" is a popular first name for boys and means noble, praiseworthy, or elevated. "Mochizuki" is both a common noun and a last name. The mochi part means hope or wish; the zuki part means moon; and both together, mochizuki, mean full moon. I couldn't make sense of the moon stuff in the movie until I looked at the name plates on the office doors towards the beginning of the movie and noticed the character for "moon" in Mochizuki's name.
For whatever reason, Shiori's name is written in the movie in a way where it can take on several meanings (the same way "carat," "caret," and "carrot" sound the same but have different meanings). Shiori is both a common noun and a very pretty and not that common name for a girl. According to this page,
A popular character to write the name Shiori is the kanji meaning "bookmark; guidebook". Other possibilities include "history; chronicle" (shio) and "weave; fabric" (ri), as well as "poem; poetry" (shio) and "weave; fabric" (ri).
Satonaka is a last name. The sato part means village or hometown, where the parents live. According to my mom, it refers to the town where a woman's parents' home is. Naka means inside or in the middle of.
Thanks, Lee, for giving me some Japanese homework to call home about. :) My boyfriend and I really enjoyed the movie! I'm still puzzling over what memory I would choose. Given the amount of time it's taking, I'm rapidly turning into a candidate for increasing the office staff in the movie. Which means I should probably start puzzling over what marching band instrument to play, too.
Hi, this is Kate of 'Kate & Jim'. Jim is away so it's my first time writing (he's the writer, I'm the talker).
This was a delightful film. I found it very soothing and relaxing, almost reassuring.
The quote Lee chose to open with about forgetting being heaven , I can't remember who in the film said it but I do recall being struck by it.
Whoever did say it would probably appreciate the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" with Jim Carrey.
See you there Cherry, I'm probably going to be the guy playing the didgeridoo. Or the xylophone. Apparently I'm just not good at making choices in general.
Lee, Putnam Pantry is still in Danvers.
Putnam Pantry Candies
www.PutnamPantry.com
978-774-2383
There are some reviews of it at:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/putnam-pantry-danvers
I'd like to share a quote with all of you from Roger Ebert's review of After Life:
"Kore-eda, with this film and the 1997 masterpiece "Maborosi," has earned the right to be considered with Kurosawa, Bergman and other great humanists of the cinema. His films embrace the mystery of life, and encourage us to think about why we are here, and what makes us truly happy."
That pretty much sums up my view, I just don't have the talent to put my views into words like that.
LEM, WWW.
Maborosi is also WWW. I found the tone to be quite different from that of AfterLife. For those of you who enjoyed AfterLife I'd suggest seeing another great film called '9 Souls', by Toyoda.
OK, here goes: (and yes, it has been both painful and pleasurable to look for THE memory.)
My grandmother came to live with us for about two months during a time when her 2nd husband was in the hospital. I didn't know her all that well as we had lived across the world essentially from her but I did feel comfortable and liked being around her when I did see her. I had a fairly large part in a play I was doing in junior high and had the script home with me. She offered to help and we went through the play , bit by bit together at night and on weekends whenever I was not at school rehearsal. She read every part that was needed to have me practice the dialogue. This lasted for about three weeks and I just remember how safe it felt and how funny she was. The actual performance went fine, she did come and it was like she was in the play too.
This memory is currently running at the top of the list and I can't even say exactly why. I just have a sort of calm feeling every time I think of it. I am surprised that out of so many exciting times in my life, travel, relationships, career moves etc. that this would even be a contender.
Would it be cheating to add that were eating Mocha chip ice cream during our rehearsals even if we weren't? All this talk about ice cream is hard to resist.
I loved this movie! Funnily enough, I thought it was going to be some kind of high-tech modern type of movie, (don't ask me why I thought that!) but the old fashioned atmosphere and low-tech solutions made it much more appealing to me. I appreciated that it made me think about both the things I value in my life, and how diverse and interesting people really are - as we see in the choices made by the various individuals. Great choice!
Thanks out to Cherry for researching the names of two of the main characters. Finding these connections between their names and various images in the film leads me to wonder how many other subtle references this film is loaded with. Imagine what fun it would be if Cherry had the time and inclination to decipher every scene for us!
I really enjoyed watching this and thinking about my own memories. I loved all the unique characters, especially the old woman who collected the flower petals and other small pieces of nature. Letting her take that curious and contented period of her childhood seemed to be a wise choice.
Kate, I immediately thought of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind when I heard him say that wiping out memories would be heaven. I found ESOTSM to be a thought provoking exploration of the concept of removing negative memories and one of my favorite Jim Carrey films.
This is a film about denial, but in this case denial is not only possible, it is necessary. What would all these people's therapists say? Forget all the decsions you regret, all the painful interactions, all the dissapointments. One man has a horrible life that he can't share with anyone, so he gos back to a childhood memory of hiding in his secret place. Another man focuses on his so-called sexual conquests (though I think sex with a prostitute does not count as a conquest), only to choose to forget all that and focus on his daughter's wedding. And who has the most pain? The man who upon his death sees that he was in denial the whole time and has no memories worth keeping. Maybe that's where a therapist would be happy, seeing this man choose to not go forth with some half baked memory, but choosing to remain aware of his whole life, to begin the same "journey of discovery" that Mochizuki had gone through.
JUST SAW FROST-NIXON. A MUST SEE.
FRANK LANGELLA IS MESMERIZING.
WELL, I GUESS ITS TIME TO SHARE:
WHEN YOU HAVE LIVED TO A "CERTAIN AGE" THE MEMORIES PILE UP
AND IT IS AMAZING HOW THE WORST SEEM TO KEEP POPPING UP.
DURING THE SEVENTIES (ACTUALLY THE WEEK NIXON RESIGNED)
MY FAMILY (3 KIDS , MAN AND WIFE, DOG AND CAT ),TOOK
A HOUSEBOAT TRIP DOWN THE ST. LAWRENCE SEAWAY TO MONTREAL.
NOW THAT WAS AN EXPERIENCE!
ANYWAY, ONE AFTERNOON I CLIMBED THE LADDER TO THE HOUSEBOAT ROOF AND FOUND MY FAMILY NAPPING PEACEFULLY.
STANDING ATOP THAT LADDER I WAS OVERCOME - AND I MEAN OVERCOME- WITH THE MOST
OVERPOWERING FEEL OF JOY. IT WAS UNEXPECTED AND DID NOT LAST LONG
BUT TRY AS I MIGHT ,THERE HAS BEEN NOTHING TO COMPARE WITH THAT MOMENT.
HOWEVER I AM NOT OVER YET,SO WHO KNOWS WHAT IS TO COME.
I WISH YOU ALL SUCH A MOMENT
SILVER
So many great responses, I don't know where to begin!:
Silver and Craft, thank you so much for sharing your memories.
Craft, I can imagine that the time shared with your grandmother would have a special "safe" feeling. And I think it would perfectly fine to throw the ice cream into the mix. What would heaven be without ice cream? I vote it gets automatically installed for everyone. (I do not believe there would be such a thing as high blood sugar or lactose intolerance in heaven.)
And Silver, it's nice to know that I am included in the very best memory of your life.
Anonymous, if it wasn't for you I'd think Putnam Pantry was history. Now I can't wait to invite Cherry and the gang to head on over there in the springtime.
Once again Cherry, your eye for detail astounds and delights me (and every one else apparently!)
Kate, I'm glad you took the time to write even while Jim is away. I agree with you that the movie felt soothing and reassuring. I guess that's part of why I liked it so much. And I too thought of ESOTSM. I have often felt that being able to erase many of my horrid memories would be a kind of heaven. Unfortunately it just ain't possible.
Jimmy, I'll be joining you and Cherry for band practice. I'll be handling the percussion end of things.
JackR, appreciate the quote from Ebert. Right on target.
Stuttofur, I'm glad you enjoyed the film and shared your thoughts. It was such a simple and as you say, "low tech" film in both tone and execution.
Welcome Annie. Silver (my mom) and I saw "'9 Souls" a few years back and loved it. I would highly recommend it to everyone. Haven't yet seen "Maborosi."
And lastly, David, I thoroughly enjoyed your looking at the whole thing from a therapeutic perspective. Awesome.
When I think about choosing only one memory my mind is overwhelmed with the many choices. I take this as an affirmation that I have lived my last 35 years in a way that satisfies me. Of course so much luck has been involved. I was born to loving parents, blessed (so far) with good health, and though I have had my share of the normal ups and downs of life I can't complain about much. I felt sad for the characters in the film who seemed to have so little to choose from. This is one of those films that lasts far beyond its initial viewing. I believe that would fall under the category LLI.
I had a beautiful cat, named Mr. Hodges. I didn't remember a time in my life without him which makkes sense as he was a member of our family before I was born. When I was eleven my parents decided to put on an addition to the house while my mother was pregnant to make a n extra bedroom and a den. While we were all out at work and school the construction crew let him out the door by mistake. He was a strictly indoor cat at this point unless we were in the yard with him. When I got home to find him gone it was terrible. For three days we put up the usual posters on telephone poles and all the rest but heard nothing. On the fourth day when I had given up hope and my eyes were so swollen from the continuous crying I could barely see he wandered up the porch stairs where we were sitting trying to eat dinner. He looked curious and a bit stunned but otherwise seemed fine. As I slept with him that night I tried so hard not to close my eyes so that I would stay awake and savor the feeling of happiness I was experiencing. I managed to do that for many hours before drifting off to sleep. Those dark quiet hours with Mr. Hodges in my arms were the finest I have ever experienced. If only all losses could be followed by such a deep sense of relief and peace. None since have been.
I am struck by your shared memory Anonymous.
My 40 gallon fish tank is in the throes of a toxic outbreak of nitrites right now and many have died, most will in the next hours. I have shared my life with fish friends for close to 14 years now (three who had to be put down today were the ones that have lived with me since the beginning) and in that time this level of almost complete devestation has occured only once before. The memory of it and their pleading suffering eyes haunts me to this day. As I re-experience this now, both the past and the present memories mingle. I feel an extreme sense of guilt, pain, loss and sadness that I know I will carry with me forever. It is at moments like this that I do feel quite clearly that to me heaven would be more a forgetting of all memories that are this bad , not a remembering of a positive one.
The story you tell is a
powerful one and your words:
"If only all losses could be followed by such a deep sense of relief and peace. None since have been."
have brought me to much needed tears. Thankyou.
We are very sorry to hear that you lost so many of your fish Lee. We wish you the best during this difficult time.
Lee, I can see that the timing of my comment was serendipitous. Thanks for sharing your pain with us. I too wish that your memories of this could be erased but as you point out, that is not the way life works.
Sorry to say I haven't had a free moment to watch the film even though it has been sitting in the DVD player for weeks now. I have been keeping up with the comments and have really enjoyed reading them. Of course it started me thinking about my own memories which has been an interesting experience. Sorry about the fish Lee, I watched all the videos you posted way back of the pink one and I know how important they are to you. You mentioned that you feel guilt but try to remember what a good home you provided them for a very long time. From what I know about keeping aquariums it is way more complex than people seem to think.
Hopefully I will get a chance to watch this over the weekend and clear the decks for THE WAR ZONE. From what I've heard it is a tough movie to watch and I think it was wise of you to put the "Buyer Beware" warning.
Thanks for the support around the fish everyone. The worst is over and I'm focussing on taking care of the few who managed to survive. It seems that the tiniest ones were most able to handle the toxins. I've learned a lot of lessons and though it's hard to think of getting new fish any time soon I believe I will have more knowledge to keep them all safer down the line.
I do have many memories that are truly wondrous and I hope to find the time and space to share one of them before this discussion ends. Hope all you east coasters are enjoying the snow. Personally, I am happiest when winter is truly winter. I have great memories of building snow forts; and hiking and hanging out in snow covered woods gives me a great sense of peace and happiness. Hey, I just shared some good memories!
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