AFTER DEATH, US, 2023. Directed by Stephen Gray, Chris Radtke. 106 minutes. Rated MA (Strong suicide references)
We have all heard or read about near death experiences. But do we know what they really are, what they really mean? After Death begins with a definition – so, a review starting with some definitions.
1. Near-death experiences (NDEs) have been a source of controversy within academia and the public. NDEs occur in 10% to 20% of patients who have come close to death and consist of vivid, subjective experiences that occur during life-threatening emergencies. – Google
2. A near-death experience (NDE) is a profound personal experience associated with death or impending death, which researchers describe as having similar characteristics. When positive, which the great majority are, such experiences may encompass a variety of sensations including detachment from the body, feelings of levitation, total serenity, security, warmth, joy, the experience of absolute dissolution, review of major life events, the presence of a light, and seeing dead relatives. When negative, such experiences may include sensations of anguish, distress, a void, devastation, and seeing hellish imagery. – Wikipedia
Here is a documentary from Angel Studios, Distributors of Sound of Freedom, Cabrini, His Only Son, and for the television series, The Chosen. It is a documentary with many interviews. However, some of the interviewees have died and so an actor presents their opinions, audiences assuming that they are seeing the real person, especially Dr Michael Sabom. And, at the beginning, some of the death and neo-death experiences are dramatised, a plane crash, surgery, and, as the survivors of the experience tell their stories, these again are dramatised.
The imaginative representations of the experience, cosmic, transcendent, colour, light and darkness, dramatic movement are striking – a tribute to the special effects. The film opens with the incidents and some interviews but raises issues of scientific verification, attempts at analysis, statistics, registration of near-death experiences.
There can be three main responses to all this material: favourable and accepting, an open-minded attempt at objective consideration, finally scepticism and hostility. After Death has been extraordinarily successful with audiences who are favourable and accepting, the responses on the Internet movie database, almost 200 blogs, are highly enthusiastic, some audiences seeing the film more than once, many overwhelmed by their experience.
Most of the experts, who have written books on the subject, some lecturing widely, describe the experiences in great detail, moving towards God language, some focusing on Jesus, and most speculating on what heaven is like or could be like. And, by the end, many of them are quite evangelistic.
On the other hand, some of the professional critics have been scathing and dismissive. They question the science. They are not impressed by the religious fervour. They consider all this a show.
Which means then that the film offers an opportunity for open audiences to listen to testimonies, to evaluate their credibility, to respond to their enthusiasm (or not). But, by the end, audiences will know that there are many experiences as people approach death, have experiences of being declared dead. But, as the film stresses, those who experience a near-death do not come back from the dead, as some seem to think, but they experience a resuscitation.
A film to challenge belief, scientific method, the reality of experiences which are beyond the normal.
Movies Change People
Released 15 May