Departures

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Daigo, a cellist of an orchestra in Tokyo finds himself suddenly unemployed, and decides to return to his hometown, where he ends up finding a job preparing the dead for funerals. It is, first of all, a film to feel and let it involve us from the beginning, in order to assimilate what we see in the most complete way possible. The film deals with death with such delicacy and emotion that it makes the pain and the mourning process beautiful. The narrative conveys the message that death is inevitable, and that without a chance to escape it, we just have to face it in the most peaceful and respectful way possible. The long scenes, in almost total silence, with simple and "soft" shots, perfectly matches the wonderful soundtrack of this film.

I watched this twice. It is the only movie I could recall vividly every details of the story after years. It is simply impressive that you will never forget. The showcase of Japanese movies which is good for plot variety. A classic. I wonder why there is no remake in other countries.

The Japanese cinema is perhaps the world's best, specially in the medium of animation, where they lack anything resembling an equal given that only in Japan we have a truly mature animation industry. And in terms of live action films Japan is also a first rate power. Indeed, since the days of Kurosawa and Ozu, Japan has been showing to the world how to make films. And this film is indeed one of those that shows the dramatic depth of Japanese cinema. Hollywood is still a long way from crafting drama of the same caliber, perhaps because the American zeitgeist which is characterized by a life of plenty for most Americans reduced the capacity of Americans to experience drama and thus affected negatively the film industry. Japan was a country that underwent much greater suffering and whose culture is characterized by a mentality shaped by these constraints which resulted into a more strong willed population and thus cinema with greater dramatic impact. Rated: 8.5/10

I have lived in Japan for a long time, but I did not know this kind of work existed. Is it a traditional custom in the Japanese countryside? This business seems to be thriving, and I wonder why there is a demand for it. If the cost of the casket is not included in the plan, the market price is about 40,000 yen to 100,000 yen. The boss was acting like yakuza and the freshman was doing it very good. Sometimes I was uncomfortable with the perverted expression. There were many scenes of eating foods, and the way they eat was indecency. The last scene is a message that life does not have to end completely because life leads to the next generation.

With an excellent script of a subject that nobody likes to talk about, because it always carries the pain behind. Of the complicated work and, and of other jobs that we see each other and that are necessary for life or departure, learning how important life is for everyone. Where most of the time we learn when we see it, and this movie gives us a great example.

I read through most of the external reviews I usually read - Ebert, The Village Voice etc., and looked through the user's comments... It seems everybody has been swept away by this tidal wave of schmaltz! I'm hoping it's simply that those who feel like me just haven't bothered to write. (Ebert has long become sentimental with age...) Isn't this film SO affected, so infantile in its sentimentality? Yes it has a core of beauty, and the potential for being a superb, emotionally devastating film. But it isn't. It's a waste of its material. The one positive element was the ceremony, which at certain moments in the film was protected by a tone of solemnity from the lavish, exaggerated, coarse emotional manipulation on a level with the sappiest soap opera. Another perhaps was the undertaker boss. How very sad. I wish a good director would do a remake and turn it into the polished gem it could have been. But as it is - how can so many people buy into this? Where are the critics??!

This is a wonderful movie. It's enlightening, moving and beautifully done. I would not change a thing about the beauty of this movie.