After Life Ending Explained, Know the Movie Plot and Cast
by Sakthi
Updated Apr 18, 2023
After Life Ending Explained
In After Life the story revolves around a group of recently deceased individuals who arrive at a mysterious way station, where they are asked to choose a single memory from their lives that they will carry with them into eternity. The station's staff then proceeds to create a physical manifestation of that memory for each person before they move on to the afterlife.
Towards the end of the movie, we see that the staff is struggling to create a memory for one particular person, a young girl who had died in an accident. They eventually create a makeshift memory for her, and the group moves on to the afterlife.
However, in the final scene, we see that the young girl has returned to the way station, and we hear her voiceover saying that she wants to choose a new memory because the one she had chosen before was not actually her most important one. The staff allows her to make a new choice, and we see her smiling as she leaves with a new memory.
The ending of the movie is intentionally ambiguous, leaving it up to the viewer to decide what happens next. Some may interpret it as the girl having found peace and closure by choosing a new memory, while others may see it as her being trapped in a never-ending cycle of choosing and re-choosing memories. The ending invites curiosity and contemplation about the nature of memory, life, and the afterlife.
After Life Cast
Let us see the cast and characters of the 1998 movie After Life in the table below.
Arata
Takashi Mochizuki
Erika Oda
Shiori Satonaka
Susumu Terajima
Satoru Kawashima
Taketoshi Naito
Ichiro Watanabe
Takashi Naito
Takuro Sugie
Hisako Hara
Kiyo Nishimura
Kei Tani
Kennosuke Nakamura
Kisuke Shoda
Toru Yuri
Kazuko Shirakawa
Nobuko Amano
Yūsuke Iseya
Yusuke Iseya
Sayaka Yoshino
Kana Yoshino
Kotaro Shiga
Kenji Yamamoto
Kyōko Kagawa
Kyoko Watanabe
Natsuo Ishido
Kyoko Watanabe
Sadao Abe
Ichiro Watanabe
Cast
Characters
After Life Ending Song
Here is a list of songs featured in the 1998 movie "After Life":
These are the main songs featured in the film. While there may be other incidental music and sounds throughout the movie, these are the ones that are most memorable and prominent. The ending song of the movie "After Life" is a rendition of the classic song "Memory," originally from the musical "Cats" by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The version used in the movie is performed by the Japanese singer and actress Miyako Yoshida.
The song is played during the final scene of the movie, as the young girl who had returned to the way station chooses a new memory and smiles as she leaves with it. The lyrics of the song are poignant and fit well with the themes of the movie, as they speak of memories and their ability to both comfort and haunt us.
After Life Plot
After Life is a Japanese drama film directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. The story revolves around a mysterious way station where the recently deceased arrive before moving on to the afterlife. At the way station, the deceased are asked to choose a single memory from their lives that they will carry with them into eternity.
The station's staff then proceeds to create a physical manifestation of that memory for each person before they move on to the afterlife. The film follows a group of people who have just died and are brought to the train station. Among them are Takashi Mochizuki, a young man who is reluctant to choose a memory, and Shiori Satonaka, a shy woman who struggles to find a memory to choose.
As the staff works to create each person's chosen memory, they face various challenges, including a woman who cannot choose a single memory and a man who wants to choose a memory that he didn't actually experience. Throughout the film, the staff members also reflect on their own lives and the memories they would choose to carry into the afterlife.
The head of the staff, Takuro Sugie, is particularly introspective, grappling with the nature of memory and the afterlife. As the film progresses, the staff struggles to create a memory for a young girl who died in an accident. They eventually create a makeshift memory for her, and the group moves on to the afterlife.
However, in the final scene, we see that the young girl has returned to the way station, and we hear her voiceover saying that she wants to choose a new memory because the one she had chosen before was not actually her most important one. The staff allows her to make a new choice, and we see her smiling as she leaves with a new memory.
After Life is a thought-provoking film that explores themes of memory, life, and the afterlife, as well as the human experience of grappling with mortality and the meaning of existence.
After Life Ending Explained: FAQs
The movie follows a group of recently deceased people who arrive at a way station where they are asked to choose a single memory from their lives that they will carry with them into eternity. The staff at the way station then creates a physical manifestation of that memory for each person before they move on to the afterlife.
The movie was directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda.
The movie explores themes of memory, life, and the afterlife, as well as the human experience of grappling with mortality and the meaning of existence.
The main characters include Takashi Mochizuki, Shiori Satonaka, and Takuro Sugie, the head of the way station's staff.
The choice of a memory is significant because it represents the essence of a person's life and the experience they want to hold onto as they move on to the afterlife.