Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, Departures is a delightful journey into the heartland of Japan as well as an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan’s cultural heritage.
When the orchestra in which he plays cello disbands, a young man, Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) moves back to his old hometown with his wife and finds a new job that brings him face to face with the many ways in which people are visited by death.
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.
Departures director Yojiro Takita is one of Japan ’s most accomplished, from his early success with comedies such as The Yen Family and we are not Alone through dramas Such as When the Last Sword is Drawn.
The script is by Kundo Koyama, his first for the big screen, although he served as writer on the cult-hit cooking series The Iron Chef.
Maestro Joe Hisaishi who wrote scores for many Hayao Miyazaki films such as Spirited Away and Howl’s Moving Castle, provides an original score that is by turns intense and gentle, woven through with the sound of the cello into which the main character puts so much of himself.
Before being honoured with the 2008 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Departures enjoyed huge critical and box office success in Japan grossing over $20 million and winning 10 Japan Academy Prize Awards including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor. It also was awarded the Montreal World Film Festival’s Grand Prix des Ameriques.

Departures opens in Toronto on Friday June 12.
The film is being released in Canada by Kinosmith Inc. The film is in Japanese with English subtitles.

Printable Version Email to a Friend Share

Voice Your Opinion Letter to the Editor