Hereafter (Blu-ray)

I have now watched this twice (since receiving it a few days ago). First of all - thanks, Amazon, for sending a free rental download to my Kindle Cloude when the purchase was made. I work long hours, with a hefty commute into town - so to be able to begin watching at home, then watch the rest on the train coming into work - wonderful. The film? I don't want to give anything away. Too much information would spoil it. I can tell you that I sat down to watch this film, no expectations, no idea of where it would take me, or what journey Eastwood wanted to share with the rest of us. Every new film I see with "directed by Clint Eastwood" on it, i find a new aspect to this man that i like - as a director, who knows how to unobtrusively lay out a story, draw the best performances from his actors, have a point.... you may not agree with everything that comes out of this man - I sure as shootin' have a few issues with him - but then i see another one of his films, and thank the maker (or whatever) that he chose to pursue directing as one of his acts of human expression. And he even scores his films, wrapping the wonderful choices in music he's picked, with musical compositions that come from some special place in his heart, his head - who knows? Clint Eastwood never ceases to surprise me, and contintually reveals a talent for, if nothing else (and there's plenty!), picking subject matters that others might pass by.... I doubt this movie would have been made without the CE stamp of approval on it. I am not sure what the audience is out there for such a thoughtful, thought-provoking film. All i can say to end this "review" is: If you have a hankerin' to question why we're here, where we came from, where we're going, what exactly is it, to be alive, and to be dead?.... This film will not answer those questions for you.... but you will learn that you are not alone in your quest for answers...and regardless of what faith you follow (or not), this film will touch you, likely, give you hope in a way that is hard to explain.... and the (Clint Eastwood) music/theme will haunt you long after the credits roll....He's the Man!....Thank you, Mr. Eastwood....

Directed by Clint Eastwood. Staring Matt Damon. They make great movies together! I enjoyed Hereafter very much. But I find subtitles difficult -several French dialog scenes....That's different for MALPASO Productions.

The most difficult part about writing this review was titling it. "Hereafter" is about people who must suppress their feelings because the world can't understand their experiences. They are looking to understand as well. This is a subtle, quiet, well drawn story from Clint Eastwood. "Hereafter" refers to the main characters' near death and psychic experiences. Matt Damon and Cecile de France create two very likable characters who live on different continents but eventually meet in Europe. Their meeting is facilitated by a young boy whose personal loss is soothed by Matt Damon's psychic skills. There are no explosions or car chases, but the wrath of a tsunami early in the movie is dramatically and amazingly illustrated. The cinematography is stunning, but the film seems to remain in blues and greys and though the movie is not sad, it is perhaps too subdued for some audiences. Even the warm and hopeful ending is fitted within this restrained palette. As I imagine the story beyond the end of the movie, after the two main characters fall in love, the golden rays of sunlight splash through the window in the morning! The soundtrack perfectly illustrates and supports the film--beautiful, but oh so restrained. Just a little red and orange and another chord to the music could add another note to the film. I would like to encourage viewing of "Hereafter." I really do like it, and it is very well done. I believe that being prepared for the utter restraint of the movie may make you more patient during it. The story is resolved very well. Perhaps delay dessert after dinner to midway into the movie...a little jolt to your system may balance your viewing of this really good movie.

Without giving anything away, this movie had one of the most incredible opening scenes I've see in a movie. Matt Damon was great as the clairvoyant, the female protagonist was superb, and the kid was outstanding. It's yet another movie directed by Clint Eastwood that has a message that maybe there's something beyond the reality that the materialists try to force us to accept. Maybe, just maybe, we're something more than just flesh and blood.

The subject matter was very intersting; the acting was great and actors were cast well. But for being an Eastwood/Spielberg/Kennedy endevaour, it fell short. The story was not well written and the characters were not fleshed out by any stretch of the imagination. I appreciated the fact that though the featured actor was Matt Damon, the movie was not all about him, they gave ample time for the other story lines. But with that said, maybe it was what caused the story to fall flat. Matt Damon's plot line was barely there and I never ended up really caring about his character. It was a passable movie, and enjoyed it but certainly expected more....

This film is my immediate favourite film of the year. It had me totally involved and I found at the end I had been sitting on the edge of my seat for most of the film. It is a long while since a film has done that. In this era when movies are mostly about action and blowing things up comes a movie that has action and does blow things up, but is in essence a peaceful , thoughtful, heartfelt treatise on life and death and dying. Eastwood is a better director now than he has ever been, he has grown up from his big kid western adventure days and his movies now address the most thoughtful and important issues known to man. The last six years he has given us "Mystic River", "Gran Torino" and this, along with many other films of strong if variable quality. He is now the master film maker. This film actually delivers up a Matt Damon who is sensitive and acts and his story is the centre piece of this master work. I believe this film will expose audiences, those who are cynical, ignorant and dont have a strong understanding of human connection (which is ultimately what the movie is about, the healing of troubled souls and the connections we make on this earth)will hate it. Those who embrace life and all it offers and find the question of the after life fascinating will love it, the cynics should go and watch an action flick. This is a master piece that has already been over looked in America. It will grow in stature and reputation over the years.

I think the negative reviews have a lot to do with the trailer that shows part of the opening action scene. I guess a lot of people thought that this was some sort of action or disaster flick. It's a Clint Eastwood film and if you like his films you'll like this one. It's also unfortunate that we have become so used to films moving along at a fast pace. Many of the great films were made by directors like Eastwood who took their time and let the story develop at a natural pace. This way you get to feel the impact of the story, and also you care for the characters. Many of today's films are poorly edited and have no flow, they jump from one scene to another too quickly. There are several amazing scenes in this film, including the opening scene, the romantic feeding scene, and others. The film has depth and comes together beautifully at the end as the characters lives cross. This is one of those films that is under appreciated now but I expect will gain stature over time, as many great films did. I just watched this again, February 10, 2013. It was almost as good as the first time. The bad reviews are mostly from people who like action flicks that move along at a frantic pace and make no sense. This is really a remarkable movie that I expect will have an emotional impact on some people.

Fans of supernatural thrillers will not like this movie. Don't mistake me, this was a wonderful film. If, like myself, you have had loved ones to "cross over", this movie will appeal to you. Rather than the suspenseful, heart-stopping scares of other supernatural movies, this movie treats the subject with a gentler hand. It is not preachy and does not knock heaven or hell or any religion down your throat. It is, quite simply, a look at the part of the life cycle known as death through the eyes of three people who all experience it in a different way. After watching it, I felt serene and secure. Matt Damon, in particular, gave a dazzling performance. His performance was subtle but impassioned and I don't know why he did not receive more praise for this. Of course, the same could be said for Director Clint Eastwood who turned a movie that could have easily turned sappy into a truly moving film. Sooo, if you are looking to get scared, look elsewhere. If you, however, are interested in what happens to us when we die and, especially, if you have lost loved ones, you will most likely adore this film.

Very moving would be one of the best epithets for this film, Produced and Directed by Clint Eastwood, who is now respected for his Directing integrity as much as an Actor. His ethic according to commentaries in Special Features is to enjoy every minute of the production. Surpringly some of the action was filmed in the enormous water tanks at the Pinewood Studios in England. Cecile de France, plays Marie, a top ranking French Journalist on holiday with her boss/partner, when she is the victim of a tsaumi, overtaken by a tidal wave sweeping the resort, as she shops for gifts, for her partner's kids. She has a death experience before being revived, which haunts her, and leads her to write a book about it, but publishing is difficult. Matt Damon plays George, who has a psychic gift, and works now as a fork lift driver, to avoid his former publicity, and the attempts of his brother to exploit him. After being made redundant, he travells to London, to visit the Museum Home of Charles Dickens, his favourite Author. Here the third member of the trio involved with paranormal psychic activity, is Marcus, a London Twin who loses his brother Jason in a road accident, and who is in foster care because their Mother is an alcoholic. The twins are played by Frankie and George McLaren, excellently. Jason has apparently saved Marcos from a bomb blast in the London Underground, like a guardian spirit, by causing him to miss a train. The film cleverly explores the many avenues of possible fake and genuine Psychic and Spiritual involvement, as Marcus searches for someone to reunite him with his twin in the afterlife. All from diferent walks of life they converge at a London Book Fair where Marie is signing her new Book, entitled 'Hereafter'. Derek Jacobi, as himself is reading Dickens, and George goes to hear him, and also buys Marie's book, producing a psychic reflex, as they touch. At that moment Marcus who is visiting with his Foster Parents recognises George from an old website, and follows him to his hotel. George finally agrees to a session, and sets his mind at rest so he can move on. Clever Marcus locates Marie's hotel for George, and they meet, possibly happy ever after, and probably Hereafter. Matt Damon plays this part with great sensitivity, and Cecile de France portays a once successful public figure now an embarrassment struggling to get back on track, with harrowing realism; and the Twin boys appear to be incredibly accomplished and intelligent actors. Both discs have excellent quality, but only the ordinary DVD, contains the Special Features, and Commentaries. A haunting piano theme accompanies a lot of the action. The subject matter is not ground breaking, and it certainly is not a horror film, though it deals with situations which are horrific, but it is so thoughtfully produced that this film is definitely not one to miss.

Ce serait donc plutôt un Clint Eastwood inattendu que l'on eût retrouvé avec ce film charmant et plein d'humanité? Et c'est très bien comme ça puisque cette intrigue ne peut que ravir les cinéphiles qui recherchent un travail méticuleux et approfondi de la part d'un réalisateur notable. Trois destins qui se répartissent réciproquement de par le monde vont ici se trouver réunis par leurs interrogations et leurs quêtes concernant ''l'au-delà''. ''George'' (Matt Damon, irremplaçable dans ce rôle) est un américain qui, désabusé et quelque peu dégoûté, a délaissé ses dons de médium pour une adaptation plus ''conforme'' à un certain environnement social. Marie ( remarquable Cécile de France ) est au début du film une rescapée d'un terrible tsunami ( fortes images impressionnantes ), elle aussi va voir sa vie chamboulée par des ''visions'' oppressantes. Enfin Marcus, un tout jeune garçon qui venant de perdre son frère jumeau en sera terrassé et se retrouvera désarçonné face à sa problématique concernant la vie et la mort et de plus face à une mère en cure de désintoxication ( ''George McLaren'' et son frère jumeau ''Frankie'' sont très prometteurs dans leurs rôles respectifs. ) Ce film n'a rien d'un spectacle fantastique aux images épouvantables du ''déjà-vu'' et les séquences des visions médiumniques sont très fugitives pour laisser place à une tendre peinture sur des psychologies que la vie a rendues fragiles et fébriles, en somme un humanisme ressort de ce film qui n'est pas décousu par trois histoires distinctes et bientôt plus, à condition de le suivre jusqu'à son dénouement, et il se suit avec plaisir. ( Pour ceux qui trouveraient que Clint et le sujet de son -ce- film sont extravagants et ''débiles'' je leur proposerais de montrer publiquement quelles sortes de connaissances et donc de sciences sont les leurs à propos de ce mystère-là de le vie et de la mort et donc, de '' l'au-delà ''... ! ) N.B. J'ignore si le prix de ce Blu-ray ( + en DVD ) variera sur Amazon mais au prix actuel de ces disques excellents ( 5 euros 39 c! ) qui criera ''haro sur le baudet''? Au contraire! Billy.

I bought Hereafter (released in 2010) in July 2019 from Amazon. I knew nothing about it in advance, except that one of its main characters has psychic abilities, and that the film had received a lot of bad reviews and a lot of superlative reviews but nothing much in between. I didn't read any synopsis of the plot or any of the reviews. I just went into it cold. I've now watched Hereafter five times. At the end of the first viewing, I thought, "Huh??" The movie had stopped but it didn't seem to have reached a conclusion. I was ready to give it maybe 1 star out of 4 (mainly because of the first 10 minutes, which I won't describe because it's a spoiler). But, knowing that the critical reviews were so strongly divided, I decided to watch it again the next night. After the second viewing, I was giving it 3 stars out of 4; and I started reading the reviews. A couple of months later I watched it a third time. More things were falling into place. By now, I was giving it 3½ stars out of 4. And during the recent pandemic lockdown, I've watched it twice more. Now I definitely rate it as 4 stars out of 4. At one point along the way I suddenly recognised that there's no definite article in the title of the movie: there's no "The" in front. The title is simply Hereafter. And the ordinary meaning of that word is "from this point onwards" or "from now on". To my mind, the movie is really about how the major characters will move forward in their lives here on this Earth, in the wake of the experiences that they have had and we have witnessed. It isn't about anybody's afterlife. That also goes for the tormented psychic, George, who has visions of ghostly figures that seem to represent dead loved ones remembered by people who come to him for readings. The movie also leaves the viewer to notice how limited George's abilities are. He isn't a charlatan; he is genuine and earnest. He doesn't pretend to predict the future. Subjects who come to him for a reading find that he tells them things they already know, or could have known in their subconscious without wishing to acknowledge them. His abilities may amount to no more than some sort of telepathy. In giving a reading, George is unlocking those unacknowledged thoughts in his subjects' minds. And by the end of the film, George himself is unlocked too. (A sample of reviews by the professionals: The late Roger Eberts of the Chicago Sun-Times found it enthralling (rating: 4 stars out of 4). Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called it a bizarre and baffling turkey (rating: 1 out of 5). Rick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle said it was one of the best things Clint Eastwood had ever done (rating: 5 out of 5). Deborah Ross of The Spectator called it a leaden mess.)

Very good and entertaining

... ist die höchste Herausforderung für einen Filmemacher. Clint Eastwood wird nachgesagt, dass er inzwischen bei Drehbüchern, die ihm gefallen, nicht mehr lange umschreibt oder zu Tode entwickeln lässt -- vermutlich auch, weil er spürt, dass er (Jahrgang 1930) nicht mehr ewig Zeit hat. Eine Drehbuchfassung von 2008 ist mit dem 2009 verfilmten Buch jedenfalls weitestgehend identisch. Zu "Hereafter" sagte er in einem Interview mit der NY Times, er nähere sich der Frage, ob es ein Jenseits gibt und wie es ist, aus der Position eines Menschen, der "nicht weiß". Ist es diese gewisse Demut, oder wieder einmal die Kombination von hochmotivierten Schauspielern, dem Drehbuch, in dem die wichtigen Fragen alle noch enthalten sind, und Eastwoods auf die Geschichte konzentriertem Regiestil, die diesen Film ausmacht? Ich habe festgestellt, dass die Logik, die Charaktere der drei Stränge gegen Ende zusammenzuführen (das ahnt man ja), mich nicht störte, trotz der Vorhersehbarkeit. Zu dem Zeitpunkt hatten die sehr unterschiedlichen Figuren mich bereits in ihren Bann geschlagen. Cécile le Frances Charakter Marie, das zunächst unbekümmerte "Medienkind", eine TV-Journalistin, die ohne innere Turbulenzen als Geliebte ihres Magazinchefs auf Reisen ist, kann mit der Veränderung, die ihre Nahtodeserfahrung in ihrer Seele hinterlässt, nicht mehr umgehen. Sie fällt aus ihrem Leben heraus und findet ein Neues, langsam, schrittweise. Matt Damons George, der Werksarbeiter mit dem Hellseherfluch, hat seine Reifung bereits hinter sich, als er der überdreht-liebenswerten Melanie begegnet (Bryce Dallas Howard). Die vorsichtige Romanze, die sich anbahnt, nimmt eine überraschende Wendung (Melanies Reaktion auf Georges Botschaft ist eine Oscarleistung in zehn Sekunden, schade, dass das wohl kein Verantwortlicher bemerkt hat). Der Zwillingsbruder Marcus, dem seine zweite Hälfte Jason abhanden gekommen ist, durchläuft seinen Trauerprozeß mit der Entschlossenheit eines Kindes, das weiss, das es sich *jetzt* darum kümmern muss. Es kann noch nicht anders. Die Darstellung der Momente, in denen die Grenzen unserer täglichen Wahrnehmung durchbrochen sind (insbesondere Georges Visionen) wurde weise auf Schemen und Sekundenbruchteile beschränkt. Auch beim jetzt dritten Mal entfaltet der Film seine tröstliche Aussage -- keine Angst haben zu müssen. Ob Sie mit diesem Film etwas anfangen können, wird wohl damit zusammenhängen, ob diese Frage ("ist da noch etwas?") in Ihrem Leben eine Quelle von Neugierde oder von Angst ist. Ein Actionfilm ist das nicht, auch wenn er so anfängt. Eher ein Arthousefilm mit Hollywoodbudget. Arthouse im positivsten Sinne, meine ich: konzentriert auf seine Charaktere und voller Empathie. Auch wenn der Schluss nicht ganz so genial ist wie der Rest des Films, gebe ich die volle Punktzahl. Dieser Film ist unterhaltsam und anrührend; und ich glaube auch, dass er "wichtig" ist ... weil er Menschen, die nicht täglich mit spirituellen Fragen umgehen (wollen), ein Hintertürchen aufmacht, ohne sie zu indoktrinieren.