Departures

Almost three decades since starring in Juzo Itami's classic The Funeral, Tsutomu Yamazaki once more shines in a tale woven around the rituals, traditions and theatre involved in Japanese death rites. The irreverence that makes Itami's classic such a delight is present here. Daigo's first day on the job playing a stiff in a DVD for the funeral business comes back to haunt him in hilarious fashion later on. However, there is also reverence, the film respectfully pointing out that the people who do this necessary but thankless task do not deserve the disdain and revulsion that their profession often attracts.

Daigo loses his job as a cellist, returns to his inaka roots and stumbles into a job as an undertaker. Too ashamed to tell his wife, he slowly warms to his apprenticeship under the masterful tutelage of Sasaki. As he goes about his business, the inevitable traumas of a childhood long forgotten bubble to the surface as he goes about re-acquainting himself with the town. The conduit for the negative feelings towards his profession is Daigo's wife Mika, who takes punitive steps on discovering his new employment.

Screenwriter Kundo Koyama has to take credit for a script that moves along briskly, juxtaposing black farce with raw tenderness, all done seamlessly, and acutely observed. Lipstick on a corpse produces gales of laughter, and you are reminded that sometimes the best fun is had at funerals. Daigo moves towards a form of reconciliation and redemption through the promptings of those around him, and the comfort of his cello.

It would be all too easy for material like this to lurch into sappy sentimentality, but the film tugs at the heartstrings without overtly manipulating its audience. Motoki has to take some plaudits for this for a performance that amuses at times but hints at deep inner turmoil at others. Hirosue is less consistent, at times indulging in the head-bobbing, giggly, saccharine sweet girlishness that is the forte of the Japanese TV drama actress. She has one line in the climactic scene of such stunning obviousness I am surprised it stayed in, but for the most part she redeems herself in the tense interactions with Motoki over their differing views on his new career. Overall, she convinces as the supportive but put-upon wife.

From Kurosawa's Ikiru through The Funeral and now Okuribito, Japanese cinema has a rich vein of movies that exploit the rituals of death. How those rituals comfort us, enchant us, and see us through to a place where the pain still exists but might come to an end, is laid bare in Okuribito. It is an absorbing, moving tale, full of laughter and tears, that celebrates the intricate details of a Japanese rites of passage while laying bare their universal function. Best seen in the cinema, to get the full effect of the luscious orchestral score.

It had been years ago since a movie moved me so much that it had brought tears to my eyes, but I couldn't keep my eyes dry while experiencing Okuribito. The story, acting, music and photography are all very impressive.

I guess everyone can in some way relate to the emotions that are conveyed in Okuribito. In my humble opinion this movie is a classic in the likes of Akira Kurosawa's and Yasujiro Ozu's best work: subtle, elegant, serene, soulful, touching and timelessly beautiful. This kind of cinematic storytelling stands high above the usual formula-driven, soulless, commercial Hollywood crap.

This film is about an unemployed man taking up a job as a person who prepares body before putting into the coffin.

"Departures" is a beautiful film. It is about the last journey before a person is reduced to ashes, yet it never feels gloomy. In fact, it shows that all humans die one day, and it is how we view it and how those left behind cope with death that matters. Kobayashi treats the bodies with such enormous respect and dignity, which touches me a lot. "Departures" is a film to feel. It makes you think and feel about such a taboo topic which is not normally discussed. I commend the filmmakers for making "Departures". It's a must see.

Without irony, there is a funereal grace to this 2009 dramedy, so much so that one can sometimes hear the distinct echoes of film master Yasujiro Ozu ("Tokyo Story") in director Yojiro Takita's subtle yet stately look at the business of preparing deceased bodies for their caskets. Ozu's influence can be felt most in the quietude of tone that reveals the inevitability of death with both grim humor and spiritual awakening. The film's lyricism rests on the mournful cello accompaniment of the protagonist, Daigo Kobayashi, a young cellist who finds himself jobless after his Tokyo-based orchestra is disbanded. Out of economic necessity, he and his sunny, supportive wife Mika move back to his late mother's house up north in Yamagata.

As outlined in Kundo Koyama's somewhat methodical screenplay, the story focuses on the challenge Daigo faces in finding one's place in life, no matter how dubious it may seem to others. Daigo, bereft of his passion, answers a job ad involving "departures", which leads him to believe the company is a travel agency. However, he quickly realizes the two-person operation is actually about preparing bodies for burial, ritually cleansing and cloaking them while the mourners watch. Initially aghast, he is convinced by the taciturn owner Mr. Sasaki that he is ideal for the role of assistant and offers him the job. He has to fight his own prejudices as well as others about the supposed unseemliness of his profession, including Mika, who finds out her husband's new profession and pronounces him unclean. Daigo, however, realizes he has found his passion in the pre-burial ceremony, and Sasaki teaches him the ropes in a way that recalls Juzo Itami's beloved 1985 comedy, "Tampopo".

Former boy-band singer Masahiro Motoki is genuinely affecting as Daigo, while Ryoko Hirosue brings a surprising layer of complexity to the perennially sunny Mika. The deadpan Tsutomu Yamazaki makes Sasaki the film's key gravitational element with a minimum of effort, while Kimiko Yo shows an offbeat quality as his office manager Yuriko. The cinematography by Takeshi Hamada is top-notch with some memorable images offered along the way (like Daigo playing his cello on a hilltop), and Joe Hisaishi's ("Kikujiro") music score allows dramatic sweep without getting too epic. On the downside, the film runs too long at 130 minutes, and there are moments when the comedy is played too broadly and the sentiment laid on too thick. Still, the movie shows Japanese cinema still exudes a unique identity, and there is global vitality still in that country's film industry. A brief interview with Takita is the major bonus on the 2010 DVD.

"Okuribito", literally "The person who sees off", is about a supposedly untalented cellist's new job. After returning to hometown as a failure in the music world, he applies for a job with vague description. It turns out to be a job posting for "encoffiner", a person who performs rites and rituals before placing the body into the coffin. A 'tainted' job in the eyes of the society, but he eventually develops pride and purpose in this profession.

The movie started with subtle humor that had me chuckling for first hour, but I was slowly drawn into the story. It turned out to be a very touching and deep film.

The acting in this film was superb. Motoki Tomohiro's performance was especially amazing, hilarious at times, and played the serious and professional scenes very convincingly. I also really liked his narration, which really sets the mood and tone of the following scenes. Yamazaki Tsutomu was also excellent as the protagonist's cool mentor. The film had incredibly nice flow and very well-directed. Music in this movie played a huge role, expressing the protagonist's feelings and harmonized with every scene. It was simply beautiful.

This movie gave me a glimpse of the profession of "encoffiner", as a very respectable job, as it requires absolute accuracy, professionalism, and the respect for the dead even though it is looked down by the society. It is the encoffiner who sees off a person's last journey after dressing them up. This movie successfully depicts the pride in one's job, and questions the meaning of death.