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.
Writing
Kore-eda's patient, humane script never judges anyone's choice
Direction
Ordinary locations feel liminal, bureaucratic heaven
Acting
Non-professionals bring devastating authenticity to memory monologues
Director
Hirokazu Kore-eda
Arata Iura
Takashi Mochizuki
Erika Oda
Shiori Satonaka
Susumu Terajima
Satoru Kawashima
Takashi Naito
Takuro Sugie
Kei Tani
Kennosuke Nakamura
Kyōko Kagawa
Kyoko Watanabe
Tōru Yuri
Gisuke Shoda
Yūsuke Iseya
Yusuke Iseya
Sayaka Yoshino
Kana Yoshino
Kazuko Shirakawa
Nobuko Amano
Kotaro Shiga
Kenji Yamamoto
Hisako Hara
Kiyo Nishimura
Natsuo Ishido
Young Kyoko Watanabe
Akio Yokoyama
Security Guard
Taketoshi Naitō
Ichiro Watanabe
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Kore-eda interviewed 500 strangers about their most precious memories, then cast some as actors.
The film's bureaucratic afterlife deliberately echoes Japan's actual social services—Kore-eda wanted heaven to feel achingly ordinary.
JP
