This is a tough film to evaluate. It’s simple enough to understand what is going on and even its themes are readily apparent yet you might still be left wondering what exactly filmmaker Edson Oda intends to convey in it. The problem is that the premise is so strange, so deliberately abstracted from everyday reality that it overshadows the relatively straightforward theme of appreciating life in all of its myriad aspects. In the end, I appreciate that such a film could be funded and made at all but even as a science-fiction fan I find it difficult to muster much enthusiasm for it.

Will calls himself an interviewer and his job is to select souls to be born into the real world. The candidates have nine days with him when he questions them and reviews their responses. Those who are not chosen can elect to experience a favorite moment which Will tries to create and after that simply fade away. He also views the lives of those he has chosen and is distraught when one of them, Amanda, seemingly commits suicide without warning. His friend and colleague is Kyo who becomes concerned about Will becoming too obsessed over Amanda’s death even though they are no power to affect events in the real world where they are. Among the most recent batch of candidates is Emma who seems unusually empathetic. Will however seems scarred by Amanda’s death and is reluctant to send her out into the real world that he now believes will only hurt her.

Oddly enough the premise of this film is somewhat similar to the Pixar film Soul that was released in the same year. We have many questions about the metaphysics of how such a before-life place works and the film offers some interesting facts, such that they do experience emotions but it’s much more muted than in the real world and they don’t need to eat but they can if they want to. But so many more are left unanswered such as why even have a selection process and where do the candidates go when they’re not in Will’s house. It’s an intriguing world to learn about but it’s difficult to understand why this setup exists and why director Oda thinks this scenario can offer interesting insights on the eternal quest of finding meaning in life. The best possibility might be found in Kyo’s casual remark about there being additional layers of interviewers and observers so perhaps it is Will himself who is being tested and judged. It’s notable that of all of the characters here, only Will has ever been alive and so has cause to regret choices that he made in life.

I do like how all of the fantastical elements are implemented via entirely mundane means, so Will watches the lives of those he had selected by popping in VHS tapes and he evokes the favorite moments of failed candidates using videos projected on screens and basic carpentry. I also like the confidence to rely on pure acting skills to carry scenes especially at the film’s climax. But I still feel that the relatively conventional theme of appreciating every moment of life, even for beings that are not even truly alive, is overshadowed by the strangeness of the scenario itself. It seems to me that the film creates unnecessary problems for itself: if existence in this before-life land is already meaningful enough, why indeed does being born into the real world actually matter? It becomes the inverse of the lesson taught in Soul where the character 22 has no interest in the real world.

While I’m always open to fantastical and science-fiction stories, I feel that this particular experiment was not a success. It’s quite amazing that the US film industry is rich enough to take risks on such long shots as this but this is the kind of project that I feel would work better on a stage in real life or something.