Hirokazu Kore-eda’s After Life imagined a hereafter in which the dearly departed face a profound order: single out a favorite memory to retain for eternity, with the rest left to the ether. Memory is one of the acclaimed Japanese director’s obsessions, along with loss and what happens to those left in that wake. Whether Maborosi‘s disconcerted widow or the young brood abandoned in a Tokyo apartment by their mother in Nobody Knows, Kore-eda’s characters are vulnerable but never exploited. Quite the contrary: he treats each lived-in presence with an empathy that traces back to his earlier years of lensing humanistic documentaries for Japanese TV. Read More »

Now that the broken sprocket holes have been swept off the projection room floors, and New York’s Village VII can go back to being a mediocre theater full of bloated summer blockbusters, let’s take a look at some of the cinematic highlights from this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, shall we? While there wasn’t any of the Spider-Man 3 glamor or United 93 controversies, of recent years, there were enough quality films to keep our eyes from crusting over. After the jump, a list (in no particular order) of a few favorites that we hope will be coming to a theatre near you some time soon. Read More »

Let it be said with certitude: once the dust and plaudits settle from this Tribeca Circus, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s modest home drama Still Walking will be its enduring memento. Or, owing to Kore-eda’s honest, subtly-bruising touch, a memento mori whose tidal affect can be traced directly to its sublime, understated blend of the tender, uncomfortable, humorous, and wistful moments that reckon to be endemic to many a family gathering. Read More »