Departures (Okuribito)

Rating: **** (out of 4)
Director: Yojiro Takita
Cast: Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kimiko Yo
Language: In Japanese with English subtitle


What a beautiful film. Watching it, I smiled, I shed tears. Who would have thought that a story about a 'encoffineer', a type of professional who prepares deceased bodies before burial in a traditional Japanese funeral ritual, would be this emotionally involving? The film is sentimental, yet never melodramatic. Its bittersweet story is told in a subtle, sincere and down-to-earth way.

Daigo Kobayashi(Masahiro Motoki) was a aspiring classical musician playing cello in an orchestra in Tokyo. One day, out of a sudden, he found himself out of job as the orchestra was disbanded. Dejected, he decided to leave Tokyo to go back to his hometown. Thank God, he has his loyal, lovely wife Mika(Ryoko Hirosue), who cheerfully ride alongside with him, over this depressing ordeal.

Desperate for a job, Daigo came across a classified ad hiring for 'departures'. Thinking that it may be a travel agency, Daigo promptly turned up for interview at the company. The boss, Mr. Sasaki, wryly pointed out that the Ad is a misprint, it should read as 'The departed', and explained that the job deals with corpses. Before Daigo could reach for the door, Sasaki stuffed a generous sum of salary advance to Daigo. Daigo relented.

Despite a difficult beginning, Daigo grew steadily in his new career. He gradually saw the dignity of his new job, as the family of the deceased were grateful to his trade. However, his friends looked down at him, for doing a job nobody else want to do. Even his wife, Mika, disapproved of his strange job.

The director, Yojiro Takita, made a life affirming statement, ironically through a story dealing a lot with death. Death, as visualized in this film, is inevitable. Through the meticulously executed ritual of 'encoffinment', death looked dignified, as opposed to our common perception of horror and fear. If you are not dead, then you are living the life, with its ups and downs, with its unpredictability, and you should live it with dignity as well.

As a comparison, David Fincher's 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button', too, is a film dealing with the subject of life and death, but I found it gimmicky with its premise. 'Departures' is a sincere counterpart to that, and it is masterfully crafted, lending it with a mood and tone that is touching and engaging. Even when Takita risked sentimentality to extreme level, such as the scene having Daigo playing the cello in a lush paddy field countryside, it felt so appropriate.

Some may have criticized the predictability in its story. Indeed. With a story this plain, simple and predictable, it affects us emotionally, it moves us to tears, it brings out the smiles from our heart. Isn't that incredible?

* 'Departures' won the best foreign language film Oscar in the 2009 Academy Awards