Departures – Film Review

The 2009 Winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film

Jul 11, 2009

A delicate balance between drama and comedy is achieved by this heart-warming Japanese import, about an unemployed cello player who orchestrates a new life for himself.

Departures is a tender story of about love and forgiveness as discovered by a young man, who takes on an unusual, but life-changing career in the funeral trade. The Oscar-winning foreign film gently portrays the dark and sensitive topics of death and grieving, with humor and grace. Originally titled "Okuribito", Departures was directed by Yojiro Takita (“We Are Not Alone”, “When The Last Sword Is Drawn”), and stars Masahiro Motoki (original Japanese version of “Shall We Dance?”).

A Musical Career Transition

Earning the rare chair in an orchestra is hard enough, then, Daigo’s Tokyo symphony company is dissolved. With no job and high debt, the cellist and his wife, Mika, decide to return to his sleepy hometown. His mother, who raised him single-handedly after they were abandoned by his father, had left Daigo the family home after her death.

Upon surveying the wanted ads, Daigo finds a misleading job posting for a NK Agent for departures. The jobless musician mistakenly assumes is a travel-related business.

After arriving for the interview, he discovers that the position is not for a travel agent, but for an encoffineer with the funeral trade. The former cello player is immediately hired by Sasaki, the generous-paying funeral director, who senses his talent for the unique profession.

The Art Of Passage

The role of a NK Agent or “nokanshi” is to perform the encoffination on the dearly departed. Encoffining is the ceremonial art of washing, dressing and placing of the deceased into a coffin in the presence of the bereaved. This work is viewed, culturally, as a lowly vocation. Despite the stigma, Daigo comes to understand the great value that he provides for the living, as well as the dead, and perseveres.

Masahiro Motoki as Daigo, the cello-playing, funeral assistant, captures the reverent beauty of the encoffination craft, while struggling with unresolved issues about his long-lost father.

All the while, we are serenaded by Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 as the breath-taking scenery of the Japan’s Yamagata countryside changes from season to season.

Talented Cast and Crew of Departures

Starring Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki (“Tampopo”, “A Taxing Woman”), Ryoko Hirosue, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Tetta Sugimoto, Toru Minegishi, Tatsuo Yamada and Yukiko Tachibana.

Directed by Yojiro Takita. Screenplay written by Kundo Koyama. Cinematography directed by Takeshi Hamada. Production design directed by Fumio Ogawa. Edited by Akimasa Kawashima. Music directed by Joe Hisaishi, (“Spirited Away”, “Howl’s Moving Castle”). Produced by Toshiaki Nakazawa. Executive Producer is Yasuhiro Mase. Released in Japan by Shochiku Company. U.S. distribution by Regent Releasing.

The copyright of the article Departures – Film Review in Asian Films is owned by Denise Castillón. Permission to republish Departures – Film Review in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.