Nikolay Peev First of all I'm no movie critic or someone pretending to be expert in the cinematic art I'm just a regular Joe who likes a good movie, with that being said I have to admit that this is one of my all time favorite movies. I like pretty much everything in it:•I find the plot to be quite unique and fascinating. It kept me in nescience until the very end (and this is something I experience rarely those days)•The acting is at its best imo, Evangeline Lilly and John Malkovich are mesmerizing… don't get me wrong Romain Duris was great too, maybe an idea lesser :)•Atmosphere is just breathtaking - mysterious, kind of noar and very, very… real.•Soundtrack is nothing short of perfect, I have nothing else to say just WOW.Overall this is one of the few films that makes me shed a tear every time I watch it (me & my girlfriend if I have to be honest) and I do recommend it with all of my heart.P.S. Sorry for my poor English :(

gradyharp Sometimes the promotional department of a film causes people to not view a film because it is misrepresented by the graphics on the poster, the DVD cover, or the trailer. Such is the case with AFTERWARDS - a lovely exploration of the concept of death and dying philosophy that has nothing to do with the image of John Malkovich holding a smoking gun! And that is a shame: this is a film that has a lot to say and provides a lot to think about thanks to the writing, directing and acting. The story is adapted from the novel "Et Après..." by Guillaume Musso by Michel Spinosa and writer/director Gilles Bourdos. It is a complex story that thankfully due to the talent of the cast and director is able to carry the audience into a place perhaps not considered or discovered before. It is a thinking person's film and a rewarding one. The film opens in an idyllic setting of a lake of water lilies where we observe a little French boy Nathan and an English speaking girl Claire gently admiring swans(interesting to note that swans are traditionally or mythically associated with death). The girl slips on the dock, is trapped, and sends the boy to find her parents. The boy runs to the highway where he becomes the victim of a tragic hit and run accident. The film then jumps ahead about twenty years and we discover Nathan (Romain Duris) as a successful New York lawyer living alone after his marriage to Claire (Evangeline Lilly) has ended after the crib death of their son, leaving Claire to manage alone in New Mexico with the couple's surviving daughter: Nathan cannot cope with the fact that he feels responsible for the son's death by not responding to his cries. A strange doctor, Dr. Kay (John Malkovich) appears in Nathan's life claiming that he is able to sense death before it happens: he works in a hospital for the terminally ill, among them is one young lad Jeremy (Reece Thompson) with cardiac carcinoma who is struggling with his incipient dying. Dr. Kay is not malevolent, he is simply a 'Messenger' - one given the ability to visualize a bright white halo around a person who is soon to die. Nathan will not consider the veracity of this obtuse thought until Dr. Kay suggests he visit an old friend Anna (Pascale Bussières) who now works in a diner, living with her Russian father and her son. Nathan is curious, meets Anna, and upon visiting her home witnesses the death of Anna's father. Nathan contacts Dr. Kay, hostile that Dr Kay had suggested Anna was to die but instead lost her father, and Dr Kay reassures Nathan of the process: soon Anna dies also. At this point Dr Kay shares Nathan's history: Nathan did not die in the hit and run accident many years ago and was attended by Dr Kay who then knew that Nathan was also a Messenger. How Nathan turns his life around to flee to New Mexico and join Claire is the transformation of the film. This is a delicate story told with sincerity and lack of sensationalism. It is a journey into the philosophy of what happens to us as we die. Nathan explains this to is daughter as death being like a ship that sails to the horizon and disappears to our eyes, yet the ship sails on beyond our scope of vision into another unknown space. Director Gilles Bourdos handles the pacing of this visually stunning film with such grace that it becomes a gentle work, allowing the finest acting yet seen from Malkovich, and reminds us of just how fine an actor Romain Duris has become. This is also a lovely introduction of Evangeline Lilly, an actress with tremendous screen presence and acting ability. Forget the trailer and the ugly cover of this DVD and allow yourself to enjoy this mesmerizingly beautiful film. Grady Harp

rpmmurphy A carefully constructed and beautifully photographed film. Very successfully and thoughtfully utilizes diverse North American locations- from rustic summertime Quebec to New York City to White Sands, New Mexico and SW environs. Features classic Atom Egoyan narrative/plot/hook structure: that keeps you "learning" -up to the final frames- just what you have been watching. But...... the film is so thick- both thematically and with its sumptuous imagery- that by the time you get there (the end)- the reasonable 1hr45 screening time seems about 30min past due. You are worn out as if you've been force fed a fine cheese cake. Less would definitely be more. Also... the film comes so close to Egoyan as to practically- and I believe at one point actually- lift some lines directly from THE SWEET HEREAFTER (1997): "...Someone didn't do his job... There is no mystery..." - although here, the character's arc carries him beyond being imprisoned by this thinking.Overall: good, meaningful, thought provoking, flawed- underrated by the IMDb score.

Armand Interesting idea. The charm of Malkovich. And the delicate silhouette of Romain Duris. A movie as old question. About life, love and essence of every day.About death and expectations. About truth and believes. The taller is not very inspired. The words are dust, the nuances are broken mirrors, the lights are only grills of evening.It is a good movie but the taste is not sensational. All is known and the first expectation dies in short time.Nothing is fake, ugly or boring. But the pieces of others movies makes a rusty picture. All seems reheated food. Good intentions are contours of truism. The end is twilight of a promise. A great promise. But it is not very bad; every reminder is a lesson. About the story, evenings , life and hope.