New York Times - August 16, 2009
Familial Loss and Proustian Tempura By DENNIS LIM
DEATH looms large in the
films of the Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda. The young heroine of his feature debut, "Maborosi" (1995), is haunted by the inexplicable suicide of her seemingly happy husband.
In the metaphysical fable "After Life" (1998), the newly dead are asked to pick a single earthly recollection to keep
for eternity, displacing all other memories. "Distance" (2001) observes the grief and shame of the relatives of cult members who killed
themselves after carrying out a bio-terrorist attack.
