The Funeral

I had the good fortune to see 'The Funeral' in a real theater. The ultra-close-ups of the stockinged feet, magnified to 40 feet high, is unforgettable. Sadly, Fox Lorber has released 'The Funeral' on DVD using a scratched, pan-and-scan print. And since this film will never be a big best seller, I guess this is all we'll have. There's the inevitable comparison to 'Tampopo' and 'A Taxing Woman.' For me, 'The Funeral' is the best of the three because its humor is subtle and nuanced (the older brother in the foreground, trying to figure out which way is north, while the action goes on way off in the corner, is a perfect example). I still love 'Tampopo' (although it got the same rough treatment on DVD), but 'The Funeral' leaves me with more to feel, more to think about. I am certainly not Japanese, and I'm sure that much of the film flies by without my comprehending just what's going on. But I get more than enough from 'The Funeral' to make it one of my favorite films.

A look at how Japanese deal with death, with a humourous twist. It is much darker and less light heartedly funny as Itami's other efforts, like Tampopo or A Taxing Woman. The movie still takes a somewhat irreverent look at the whole funeral process in Japan. I would recomend this movie if you like his other ones.

This movie was written and directed by director Jyuzo Itami. He came up with the idea from his own experience of attending the funeral of his father in law, and wrote the story in 1 week. The movie was also the directorial debut for Itami.

The story is about the funeral of father in law of Takusuke (Tsutomu Yamazaki) , and his wife Chizuko Amamiya (Nobuko Miyamoto). They were on the location of shooting commercial where Chizuko was starring in when the news of Chizuko's father Shinkichi's demise comes in. Then all the practicalities of funeral arrangement begins. Then unexpectedly Takusuke's lover shows up at the funeral.

The story is what could happen in every day life told with humor and sincerity. Many unexpected things happens in the short time of the funeral that is the core of the drama. There are some sexual depiction as is common to Itami's movies.

The movie that was made on a modest budget of 1.4 million dollars became a hit, and established Itami as a producer, and director.

The movie sets the tone for future Itami's movies of people in compromising positions, and showing humor that goes with it. Interesting plot, and humor makes this movie worth watching.

I am going to respectfully disagree with the above comments. Even though I am not Japanese and haven't been to Japan, I have studied Japanese culture (though I can't claim to be an "expert") and I believe that for the most part the humor is easy enough to follow. Like when the priest arrives in a Rolls Royce. It follows the same theme of the wealthy minister in many US comedies. And then there's the organization like how many cremation lunches to make at the crematory. And of course things that have nothing to do with culture like when the manager tries to get up to answer the phone and then collapses because he had been kneeling too long and his legs have gone numb. All the while, the rest of the family is trying to keep from laughing and disrupt the prayer service that's currently taking place. But even the cultural satire is easy to follow. Like when the deceased's brother stops the funeral so all the guests can pose while he takes pictures or then Aoki, one of the guests, brings his movie camera to film everything in order to preserve it. All in all, I rank this film with "The Gods Must be Crazy" is that it does a good job in satirizing a culture's transition from traditional to modern without being disrespectful to that culture. While I do not suggest that this film will teach the viewer about Japanese culture, it is still very enlightening on certain Japanese habits.

A wonderful Japanese (black) comedy that deals with the serious, yet funny situation of a funeral. Many black comedies will be more funny than serious, after all, the movie is making fun at a serious issue. Still, The Funeral jumps back between characters that creates a balanced story that is serious, yet funny. Many comedies will not include moments of culture. Here, the movie makes several moments of the story very real as the story showcases the culture of a certain people and their customs. Director Juzo Itami was considered one of Japan's interesting film makers. Since his suicide in the 1990's, very few film makers have come close to capturing his style of movie making. Similar to Passed Away and Marvin's Room, The Funeral is a touching movie with moments of pure delight.