Some might find the premise of this movie to be ridiculous, but the premise isn't the main part of this movie although it seems like it was trying to take itself seriously. The premise is about a normal looking building where dead people gather and alive in spirit and there is counselors and trainee that will help the people that died choose one memory that they will take with them for all of eternity. So basically the dead spirits are in a hotel until they pick a memory and move on. Also the memory is shown to the spirits through videotapes. I found it sort of humorous that the dead people in this are all Japanese with Japanese counselors and trainee and they all only speak Japanese and where clothes that look like it's from the 80's although there is a reason behind the way they are dressed, but like I said the premise is part of it, a lot of it but still part of it. The movie sort of feels like a documentary with interviews of the dead during part of the after life although the premise is ridiculous and also since there is almost no music it plays a big factor in it. This movie has it's target audience, mainly because of it's artsy style but isn't for everyone. I sort of found this movie to be a bit tedious at times and although the life stories of the dead people was believable for the most part but it was boring to listen to. It's like your when your on a bus, train or even on a plane where some old people constantly ramble on and on and just won't stop talking about their past. In fact in the movie "Airplane!" the people that hear the protagonist's story killed themselves out of boredom. I wouldn't go that extreme but it was boring to watch these interviews, plus the protagonist's life story in "Airplane!" had some humor in it. Don't get me wrong I enjoy watching artsy films that isn't really for the mainstream, however I didn't enjoy this movie all that much. Perhaps I am missing something because despite the positive reviews this movie has been getting, I didn't think it was that great. On a positive note this movie does somewhat makes you reflect on certain parts of your life and the humanistic aspects is done pretty well. The movie moves very slowly but sometimes it can be slightly absorbing, but the only thing that kept me watching was to find out the ending and that was the main reason. This film has some good elements but it just isn't utilized that well, I probably won't be seeing this movie again seeing how I struggled while watching it the first time. But like I said this movie has it's target audience, I just wasn't really one of them.
6.5/10
6.5/10