My favorite foreign film. The touching scenes and dealing with the sensitive subject of death. How a man mistakenly applies for job that he thought was something else. A man scorned for working that kind of job, but how he overcame their scorn and became respected as a professional who treated the deceased with the upmost respect and care.

In returning back where he came from, Daigo Kabayashi is as lost as Professor David Lurie from J. M. Coetzee's novel, Disgrace (1999). One might argue that the Professor is responsible for his own disgraceful homecoming, but such a person would have to be reminded of fate's brutality, that what the leg that will be broken will be broken. There is no more escape for the professor than there is for Daigo, a cellist who has to go back home when his orchestra is disbanded, even before he has paid off the expensive cello he just got. The thing that connects these two so strongly is the new "vocations" each one finds in his own wasted dreams: the professor has his sick dogs, and we're not so sure he cares that much about his work on Byron. Daigo finds his dead, and the cello is now just a hobby. And perhaps because he doesn't care about an audience anymore, he becomes an artist by departing from that stiff professionalism that had driven him to buty the expensive cello in the first place. In a way, his new "art" is the key to that childish fascination that is the mark of the true artist, and with the audience gone so goes the cares and so enters the true artist. Yet in this great transfomation, or metamorphosis, is weaved the metamorphoses of others, so that the movie is more than a portrait. It is a symphonic masterpiece, and Daigo is happy if happiness exist, even though the path to that happiness has wiped the smile perhaps entirely from his face. At the end, I thought I saw in his cheeckbones the cheekbones of Kafka, but that might be an optical illusion. They do look alike if you ask me.

A cellist living in Tokyo, Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) is forced to return to his hometown when funding is pulled from his orchestra. Unbeknownst to his wife, he accepts a position that involves preparing the deceased for their final departure, leading him to reevaluate his life and, perhaps more importantly, his relationships with those around him. Departures is a languid, meditative film, meticulously directed and beautifully shot – every shot is perfectly framed and expertly blocked. The characters all resonate in some way, regardless of their views on Daigo's profession or their own responses to death. It is a moving and impactful film that, despite the subject matter, is never overly sentimental or maudlin.

One of my favorite movies, beautiful and real.

Departures loses its sense of humor about halfway through and turns a little sappy. However, I liked the movie very much and recommend it.

It's a wonderful movie about death. The only fly in the ointment is that it never tells why Daigo's father left him and his mother. It would be great if the movie had focused a little bit more about this. I really love Shokichi's line "I'm good at burning things." when he prepare to cremate Tsuyako.

A very artistic film that show us the importance of change and the balance between life and dead

lol it's quirky & kind of funny. i'm not sure i would recommend it to anyone, but i did enjoy watching it.

About 30 years ago, I learned of the taboo nature of the subject of disposing of the dead in Japan from Masato, my favorite sushi chef. I finally got him to rent director Juzo Itami's "Tampopo," which remains one of my favorite films of all time, and I assumed that he would also love it (especially since he was involved in the food industry himself). Instead, while he said that he thought it was very funny, he'd found Itami's "The Funeral" (which I had also seen and enjoyed, though not nearly as much) to be much funnier because to even talk about things like the details of a funeral, e.g., the costs of the different casket options, let alone joke about them, was just something that you didn't do in Japan. I later learned that even to this day, if you are a male from some areas of Tokyo or have one of certain surnames, and start to date a woman, her parents may hire a private investigator to see if your family was in the business, which would disqualify you as son-in-law material. I think that you should understand this to truly appreciate what the main character is going through when he takes the job that he stumbles into, and why he can't tell his wife or anyone else that he has. Yet he manages to overcome his internal conflict and see the beauty in the comfort that he helps to bring to the bereaved.

A cellist becomes an encoffiner when the orchestra disbands. And the consequences of taking this new job, the protagonist keeps facing different things which changes his view on life, forgiveness, acceptance and death. Yōjirō Takita keeps his audience serene throughout the movie. A must-watch.

Easily grasped but requires a firm chomp, careful you don't bite on your tongue cause it softly hits hard.

Film molto poetico e sensibile con tematiche molto profonde. Avrei preferito un'intensità maggiore nei dialoghi della parte centrale del film, visto che il messaggio traspare principalmente nella sua seconda metà. Il finale toccante chiude alla perfezione un ottimo film che non si limita a raccontare una storia, ma descrive un'intera esperienza che prima o poi ognuno di noi è costretto a vivere.

By far best Japanese movie of all times. One of the few not fighting, but very sensitive japanese movies, brilliant!!

It's a Film about a coffin man - One who prepares a body in front of the family of the deceased. It is Not Morbid and touches on Shēngsǐ (life and death) a word we don't have in English. Budism based. It dives into the people involved with death as unclean in Japanese old fashioned culture and ties this to food. Extremely well thought out and well done film. After this fim you will lose your fear of our concept of a Western death, so not only is it highly inspirational but can help you think about such matters more positively. It is the best International Film for myself on a very unusual topic. Great director and based on the Japanese book Coffin man.

La película ofrece momentos conmovedores desde la lealtad de una esposa en medio de la desaprobación por un trabajo, el último adiós de las familias a sus seres queridos y el perdón como parte del aprendizaje de la vida. La fotografía y la música de Joe Hisaishi son cruciales y suavizan la trama con emotivas escenas. Algunas escenas cómicas considero con que no son necesarias pues rayan en la sobre actuación.

beautiful experience

Wonderful film, full of emotion and capturing the drama of everyday life and death. Quite and intense highlighting the importance of ritual in saying final goodbye's and final recognition of the part a person has played in life.

A substantially overrated Oscar winner. It does have some remarkable scenes. The Japanese do death and ritual very well. But character development is weak, as is the story. It really needed some fleshing out. But there are moments to savor. The acting by the younger actors is weak, and the wife's is some sort of anime characterization. A good idea, which could have been great with better development.

This is about as poignant as it gets. Skip the dictionary. Watch this film for a definition of the word.

Firstly I wonder how a film with such a deep topic can be so flat and toneless. Secondly I ask myself in which universe Japan enters this movie for the Academy Award, being the same year of the amazing "Still Walking". And thirdly the most amazing thing: I really need to know how is possible that won the Oscar! I am very puzzled.