MesmeroWatch list, 0 saved

Movie
Poster for After Life

After Life

1999 · 118 min

A gentle, meditative film that unfolds like a quiet conversation, inviting you to reflect on memory and what makes a life meaningful.

Directed by
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Genres
Fantasy, Drama
Starring
Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima
Tagline
What is the one memory you would take with you?
Overview
On a cold Monday morning, a group of counselors clock in at an old-fashioned social services office. Their task is to interview the recently deceased, record their personal details, then, over the course of the week, assist them in choosing a single memory to keep for eternity.

Your rating is saved. See your suggestions, or find titles like this one below.

Rate it, and Mesmero finds titles that feel like it. You do not need an account.

Search YouTube for a trailer

Stream in the UK
  • BFI Player
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Genres
Fantasy, Drama
Starring
Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • upliftingstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • memory
  • death
  • identity
  • love
  • grief
Places
  • workplace
  • single country house
Era
contemporary
Audience
adult
Form
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence none
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action1
Horror0
Humour3
Realism6
Romance4
Tension2
Darkness3
Complexity7
Emotional weight8

More like this

Titles like After Life

Movie

Still Walking

2008

Quietly devastating and tender, it observes a family's unspoken resentments and small kindnesses with patience and deep compassion.

Same director: Hirokazu Kore-eda · Melancholic, warm, slow-burn · about memory and grief · ensemble

Also
Same director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • memory
  • grief
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
114 min
Details
Still WalkingHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Ikiru

1952

A quiet, deeply moving meditation on mortality that asks you to sit with a man's regret and his late, small triumph.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about death and identity

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • death
  • identity
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
143 min
Details
IkiruHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Only Yesterday

1991

A gentle, nostalgic journey through memory and quiet self-discovery, slow and reflective but emotionally resonant.

Melancholic, warm, slow-burn · about memory and identity

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • memory
  • identity
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
119 min
Details
Only YesterdayHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Maborosi

1995

A quiet, contemplative film that immerses you in its slow rhythms and visual beauty, leaving a lingering sense of loss and gentle hope.

Same director: Hirokazu Kore-eda · Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about memory and grief

Also
Same director: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • memory
  • grief
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
110 min
Details
MaborosiHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Eternity

2025

A bittersweet, witty fantasy that makes you ponder love and loss while smiling through the tears.

Melancholic, warm · about memory and death

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • memory
  • death
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
114 min
Details
EternityHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Nine Days

2021

A quiet, haunting meditation that asks you to sit with questions of life and death long after it ends.

Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about death and identity · ensemble

Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • death
  • identity
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
124 min
Details
Nine DaysHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Soul

2020

A warm, thoughtful animated journey that mixes existential wonder with gentle humor and deep feeling.

Melancholic, warm · about death and identity

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • death
  • identity
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
101 min
Details
SoulHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Love Letter

1995

A quiet, snow-dusted meditation on loss and memory that unfolds gently through letters, leaving a lingering warmth and ache.

Melancholic, warm, slow-burn · about memory and identity · ensemble

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • memory
  • identity
  • ensemble
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
engaged
Runtime
117 min
Details
Love LetterHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

One Year to Live, Buy a Man

2026

A gentle, bittersweet weepie that balances quiet comedy with a tender ache, leaving you moved rather than devastated.

Melancholic, warm · about death and identity

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • death
  • identity
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
109 min
Details
One Year to Live, Buy a ManHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

2010

A slow, dreamlike meditation on death and memory that blurs the line between the living and the spirit world, leaving you in a quiet, haunting trance.

Melancholic, warm, slow-burn · about memory and death

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • memory
  • death
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
114 min
Details
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past LivesHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

Air Doll

2009

A quiet, dreamlike fable that drifts between wonder and deep sadness, asking what it means to be alive.

Same writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda · Melancholic, earnest, slow-burn · about death and identity

Also
Same writer: Hirokazu Kore-eda
Via
  • melancholic
  • earnest
  • death
  • identity
Pacing
slow-burn
Attention
demanding
Runtime
116 min
Details
Air DollHidden from your suggestions.
Movie

The Five People You Meet In Heaven

2004

A gentle, reflective journey through a life, mixing nostalgia and regret with a comforting sense of purpose.

Melancholic, warm · about memory and death

Via
  • melancholic
  • warm
  • memory
  • death
Pacing
measured
Attention
engaged
Runtime
132 min
Details
The Five People You Meet In HeavenHidden from your suggestions.

Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • BFI Player
Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
fantasy, drama
Directed by
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Written by
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Starring
Arata Iura, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Takashi Naito, Kei Tani, Kyōko Kagawa, Tōru Yuri, Yusuke Iseya
Music
Yasuhiro Kasamatsu
Cinematography
Masayoshi Sukita, Yutaka Yamazaki
Runtime
118 min
Country
Japan
Languages
Japanese

TMDBIMDbLetterboxdWikipediaWikidata