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Departures
Original Title
Okuribito- Director: Yôjirô Takita
- Writer: Kundô Koyama
- Producer: Yasuhiro Mase; Toshiaki Nakazawa
CGiii Comment
This won the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year...
Although a fine film, it did not deserve such an accolade - due to the unnecessary slapstick comedy, the somewhat overwrought performances by the supporting cast and a central performance that defies consistency - Motoki is not a comic actor, the scenes where he tries to be funny are excruciating and, unfortunately mar this sentimental film.
The director, obviously, is to blame - but, since he won the Oscar, no-one would dare berate him of his shortcomings as a director - well, in more capable hands, this would have been a worthy winner.
A tear-jerker with some exceptionally sensitive scenes - it could have been more than it is...
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.
Cast & Characters
Masahiro Motoki as Daigo Kobayashi;
Tsutomu Yamazaki as Ikuei Sasaki;
Ryoko Hirosue as Mika Kobayashi;
Kazuko Yoshiyuki as Tsuyako Yamashita;
Kimiko Yo as Yuriko Uemura;
Takashi Sasano as Shokichi Hirata;
Tetta Sugimoto as Yamashita;
Toru Minegishi as Yoshiki Kobayashi;
Tatsuo Yamada as Togashi;
Yukari Tachibana