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| Above, Masahiro Motoki and Ryoko Hirosue. |
Death is not a subject that people will immediately gravitate to, but,
depending upon how it is handled, can be a subject that just might enlighten
and, at the same time, be moving.
The Japanese movie, Departures, deals with the subject of death that
is entertaining, enlightening, sad, humorous and touching. And, it accomplishes this without being
morbid (the closest is when an old lady is found two weeks after death).
The movie is about an out-of-work cellist, Daigo Kobayashi (played by
Masahiro Motoki) who returns to his hometown with his wife (Ryoko Hirosue) after finding out
that his orchestra company he worked for dissolved.
Desperate for work, he is hired as a "Nokanshi," who prepares the
bodies of the deceased for burial and entrance into the next life. Tsutomu Yamazaki plays the senior Nokanshi (“The
Boss”).
He takes the job in secret, fearful that his wife would find this
occupation repulsive. She leaves him
after learning the nature of her husband's work, stipulating that she would
return once he tenders his resignation.
He doesn't and through his work he goes through a spiritual journey and
re-learns joy and the wonders of living.
For Ishiro Honda fans, Departures was filmed in Yamagata prefecture (red area in map at right),
where, as author Steve Ryfle tells me, Honda spent his youth. It is a beautiful place.
Departures won the 2008 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
Departures was directed by Yojiro Takita.
I heartily recommend Departures.
My grade: A+.
