Departures

Movie Info

Genre(s): Drama

Written by: Kundo Koyama

Directed by: Yojiro Takita

Release Date:
Theatrical: May 29, 2009

Running Time: 130 minutes, Color

Origin: Japan

Language(s): Japanese

Summary

RATING: PG-13 for thematic material

Starring Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, and Kimiko Yo

Departures follows Daigo Kobayashi, a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left 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. (Regent Releasing)

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What The Critics Said

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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

David gave it a10:
One of the best movies of the decade. It handles grief, which is an essential part of our lives, in a gentle and human way. Gradually the viewer is carried into the experience of separation and its impact on those who stay alive.

Richard B gave it a10:
Simply one of the most moving films I've seen in many years.

Neil R gave it a10:
I'm concerned, but not surprised, that the American press gave this monumental film mixed reviews. In a country which exalts youth and denies death, DEPARTURES must be a total drag for some viewers. I needn't tell the story, because it is available in too many forms elsewhere. I will say that I've never seen a film from any filmmaker or culture which displays such reverence and love for the lives and deaths of common people as this extraordinarily beautiful movie. Perhaps it is the contrast between the Eastern way of death and that of our own which made such an impression on me. But on a simpler level, this film tells the story of a young man who -- having lost all identity -- recovers it in the most surprising way. He learns not only to adapt to his new occupation but to honor it. And his work -- casketing -- preparing bodies for cremation -- reveals the ultimate gestures of honor and respect for the dead. Deeply, deeply moving stuff. The venerable Joe Hisaihi has done it again. His cello-focused score is lavishly orchestrated and simply gorgeous. This is his best work since PRINCESS MONONOKE. The ensemble performances are as good as you get. There's not one false peep from the entire bunch. Any decent, intelligent filmgoer who misses this has bypassed more than a movie. The script, the imagery, the values of this great achievement will impact the sensibilities of those who see it. Our lives have more purpose than we, our acquaintances and employers suggest. We would all be better off if we could pay homage to others when they were still alive; but this wonderful work -- funny and moving in turn -- reminds us that we have another chance to do so, and that that it is redeeming and beautiful. Don't miss it.

Pat gave it a1:
Well, I'm in the minority here but I agree with Dave. While the intentions were good, it just came off too manipulative and heavy-handed for my taste. I also agree that the other nominations for the foreign film Oscar were much more deserving than this. At least The Class won the Palme D'or at the Cannes Film Festival. If it weren't for the great visuals I would probably give this a zero.

medina p gave it a10:
Departure rightfully deserves its Academy award for best foreign language film. Even more deserving than the much touted Waltz with Bashir and The Class. This is what cinema is all about. The direction, music score, cinematography, editing, sound, production design and of course, the acting are SUPERB. The film has a profound impact on me. The ending was unforgettable. Some of the so-called critics should stop lambasting feel good movies which promote positive values and exhibit the triumph of the human spirit. The magic of Departures is in its simplicity. It is heartfelt, mesmerizing and impeccable.

Yiheng Z gave it an8:
I had a very general ideal of movies in 2008, full of Hollywood and Oscar taste. There are many good pieces, and a few could be written on film history. Like “No Country for Old Men” and “There Will Be Blood”, they all very great work which not just dipped into the cruelty of human nature and the inner side of human, but even more. But I always felt, besides all those dark slides, we should need something bright and peace that tell us how wonderful people are, and how treasure the life is. And here it is: Okuribito. Japanese movies are keeping getting worse and worse recent years. Some little immature girls and never-smile boys play fool feel themselves super cool, or a busty in tight dress walking around with guns, pretending a super hero. They are going far away from the old great Japanese movies which are usually sensible, calm, gentle and touchable. In 2008, there are two Japanese movies my friend highly recommended. On is “Okuribito”, another is “10 Promises” to my Dog. Second one is an animal movie, but I’m not an animal fan, so I’ll watch it later. My friend said it took the soul from “Quill”, so I’ll expect that could be a good movie, has something deep other than just making people crying. Okuribito, it is a movie which used very common theory and most normal technique of expression. The protagonist is always a person who do kind of special or very normal job (well, very normal is already special enough). He meets all different kind of people, witnessing their life in just one burst of light, telling their luckiness or tragedy. And we also have our protagonist’s own life story going through the whole show; it will be end after his story down the curtain, happy ending or bad ending, doesn’t matter. The most usual job for our protagonist must be writer or reporter, no doubt. When we want to make the story a little bit more special, we choose someone different to be our story teller, like a procuress, a warden or Lady Lilin holds a night club in Chinatown. Their special job make them judge people in different way, and also let them meeting may very special group other than ones we could meet in our normal life. That’s a way to make stories interesting and make them more readable. However, Okuribito is different. This traditional expressed movie chose our protagonist a normal and special job: a departure. Because death itself, it is a very normal and also the most special thing in this world. At the end of life journey, all the happiness and sadness, all went together, to the time will stop from now on and endless forever. For our Protagonist, he can only listen to their story through a died body; he can only picture what they expired through their family, through their words, their attitude, and their tears. The protagonist, he used to be a cellist in Tokyo. Yeah, that kind of a great that every admired. Good job, beautiful lovely wife and a treasures cello. Everything seems nice and bright, but it’s all ends up at the break-up of his orchestra. He gave up his cellist dream and took his wife back to the old country house his mother left, and became a departure: a shame nameless job. This is a fall and a rise of his life, a boring start, maybe. He worked on dead bodies, friend despise, wife left, he’s still in. As his boss said, it’s destiny. He got a new life from dead. His childhood cello, touchable performance at X’mas Eve; the melody jumped again, don’t need expensive instrument, no orchestra accompany, a life music from understanding of death. In this movie, the processing of NouKan (encoffin) is reborn. Clean up the body, put on make up to make them pretty like alive, see them off to a new life. Everyone in the movie was receiving a new life. He gave up cello, back to hometown, work as departure, and at last, encoffined his own father; his wife fellow him without any complain, then left him for his departure job, back again, and finally understood and supported him; his boss became a departure after wife dead; the office phone lady abounded her child, and finally end up here in this small town; the son of the public baths lady, when he said “sorry mom” at last; and every dead, all their family, everything is rebirth. In china, we say “Red & White Happy Occasion” which means wedding and burial. Yes, burial is also a happen thing. Every those things in this movie, the destiny of one meet another, the destiny of live and death, the meaning of life, and where the death ends up with, were all worth thinking deeply about. Great art doesn’t have to be miraculous; it can be original and traditional, still makes great powerful movement. Art is not how new, how special it is, it goes through your heart and deeply touch your soul, that’s what the art is. At last, I want to end up this with few words from “Les Miz” ( might be kinda off topic, but I do like it) Will the world remember you when you fall? Could it be your death means nothing at all? Is your life just one more lie?

Dave gave it a3:
Wow, the Academy sure missed the boat this year! Waltz with Bashir, The Class and Revanche are all light years better and FAR more deserving of the Oscar than this sappy drivel. I can only guess that there were a bunch of votes divided up between the other three with this sneaking in on top. Not only is this not the best foreign film, it isn't even the best Japanese film. I highly suggest Tokyo Sonata which is far superior to this.

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