Kore-Eda's AFTER LIFE

[TKBowman@aol.com]

I thought this would be of some interest to the list...

The following snippit is from the indieWIRE web site in an article on the best
films of 1998 that have not yet been picked up for US Distribution.

"Tied with "1999" was a very different film from Japan: "After Life," from
"Maborosi" director Hirokazu Kore-Eda which wowed staffers at its Toronto
debut and later went on to receive the FIPRESCI Critic's Prize at the San
Sebastian Film Festival. From Toronto, indieWIRE wrote that the film "is as
mythically evocative as 'Wings of Desire' in its depiction of a way station
between heaven and earth. . . . Whimsical, surprisingly profound and
refreshingly bereft of any special effects, ?After Life' is as gently moving
as it is wildly original." Kore-Eda will bring "After Life" to the 1999
Sundance Film Festival where audiences will get another chance to catch this
beautiful film. Technically, the film is no longer eligible for our staff poll
-- late this week word came that the film was acquired by Artistic License."

This last sentence is good news indeed as "After Life" was my favorite film
from this year's Toronto International Film Festival. I don't know much about
the distributor, Artistic License, but I believe they also handled the US
theatrical distribution of Fridrik Thor Fridriksson's equally wonderful "Cold
Fever" with Masatoshi Nagase. I'm surprised the film took this long to get
picked up in the US and I'm equally surprised this film wasn't snapped up by
Milestone after their excellent handling of Kore-Eda's "Mabarosi." Has "After
Life" been released yet in Japan and if so, what has the response been?

Onto a general question... I saw a documentary by Kore-Eda this past February
called "Without Memory" that was also excellent. I'd be interested in seeing
this again as well as other documentaries by Kore-Eda. Does anyone know of a
source to find English-subtitled copies of these films or just want to comment
on the docs in general? How many documentaries has Kore-Eda done?

Thanks, Todd
tkbowman at aol.com