---
title: "After Life: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/after-life/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/after-life"
critics_score: 79
critics_reviews: 7
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# After Life (1999): what the critics said

Critics' score 79 from 7 reviews: 5 positive, 2 mixed, 0 negative.

The reviews lean warmly positive, and they agree on why. Most critics describe the film as humane, thoughtful and quietly moving, and the praise clusters on Kore-eda’s handling of the premise: the dead choosing a single memory to keep, and a plain, observational style that makes a metaphysical idea feel ordinary. Variety notes the mixing of professional actors and non-professionals in the cast, and several others admire the restraint with which the chosen memories are recreated rather than dressed up. The film’s thinking about memory, and about filmmaking itself, comes up in nearly every notice.

Reservations are scarce. Among the reviews whose text we could read, the spread is narrow, running from solid approval to open admiration, and nobody argues that the film is cold or slight. The two lower figures in the tally belong to reviews we could not access in full, so no specific complaint is on record. Read as a group, the critics are closer to agreement than the number suggests.

## Empire — David Parkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. 

Parkinson finds the film a delightful, deeply humane fantasy. He singles out its careful handling of the dead’s memories and the splendid cast.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/life-2-review/)

## Variety — Derek Elley

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 1998. Festival review. 

Elley finds the film slyly humorous, original and moving, predicting strong critical support. He especially praises its humane concept and the way its casting brings together actors and non-professionals.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/1998/film/reviews/after-life-2-1200455115/)

## The Guardian — Philip French

Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 October 1999. 

French praises the film as thoughtful, accessible, and immensely suggestive. He singles out its meditation on memory and cinema, especially the moving discovery that one person was part of another’s happiness.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/1999/oct/03/philipfrench)

## Slant Magazine — Jake Cole

Rating 4/5. 10 August 2021. 

Cole calls the film an understated masterpiece and praises its ability to make profound ideas feel relatable. He singles out its observational approach, which grounds its metaphysical premise in realism.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/after-life-blu-ray-review-kore-eda-hirokazu-criterion/)

## The AV Club — Joshua Klein

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 29 March 2002. 

Klein finds the film thought-provoking and touching, with a quietly moving message about memory and existence. He especially praises its mundane, naturalistic approach to recreating the dead characters’ chosen memories.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/after-life-1798194986)

## RogerEbert.com

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 

The page was blocked by a browser check, so the critic’s verdict cannot be determined. No praise or complaint from the review was available to assess.

[Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/after-life-1999)

## The New York Times

Fi1m's normalised score 64/100 (inferred from the text). 12 May 1999. 

The page could not be accessed, so the critic’s verdict is unavailable. The article text also provides no praise or complaint to report.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/12/movies/film-review-in-death-a-fond-remembrance-of-things-past.html)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/after-life.md