Wandafuru Raifu (aka After Life) (1998)

A group of disparate recently deceased people find themselves at a way station. They are given three days to identify their happiest memory to take to the "after life". Written and directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda (STILL WALKING), the film is unique in its combination of documentary (many of those interviewed are not actors) and the fictional narrative written by Kore-eda. It's a lovely reflective examination of memory. What we choose to remember, what we can't remember and what we conveniently forget. Kore-eda leaves religious faith out of the after life. There is no Heaven or Hell and God is never mentioned. It's just a place where one transitions and moves on to the after life (whatever that may be). The movie isn't heavy on plot. It consists of moments that add up to a moving cinematic experience. With Arata, Erika Oda, Susumu Terajima, Taketoshi Naito and Hisako Hara.