By now, I guess many of you have caught the japanese movie ~ ''Departures'' in the theatres. I only get to watch it after 2 attempts to get tix! Wonder isit due to the fact that only selective GV theatres screening it?
Awarded the 2009 Oscar's Best Foreign Language Film, it certainly earned rave reviews from the media and online reviewers. Thanks to reading all these reviews, i felt that i muz definately catch it before it's gone!
Are you gg to spend $ to watch a movie about death? To be more precise, it's about the casketing processing. In Japanese term, the job is 'Nokanshi' where one helps to clean & 'beautify' the dead before the body is put into a coffin. It's a job that many people shirks and use weird looks to judge... The movie began with Daigo Kobayashi (acted by Masahiro Motoki) doing the nokanshi job as he narrated how he got into this trade. He was supposely a cello player with an orchestra but lost his job when the orchestra dissolved. He decided to return to his hometown with his wife (acted by Ryoko Hirosue). One day, Daigo saw a job ad stating 'departures', thinking that it's likely a tour agency job and went for the interview. By fate, he was hired on the spot and only then realised that it's a nokanshi job...
Daigo had no choice but to take up the job as he needed one...but he was cautious not to let his wife know. He followed his boss and started as an observer... the master was calm & peaceful while he carried out his duties. Daigo was won over in the process & grew to like his job. Death could hit anyone, as in the movie... from a child to the elderly. Behind every death, it carries a tale into the coffin...
I tink each of us will definately experience death of a dear one at least once in our life. Well, dun tink that this movie is a sob sob story, the director really takes effort to inject humour interpersed thru'out the movie. There was this part i like where the boss replied that their service is for all religions, be it buddhism, christanity or hindus... so true! I like how the japanese does movies, and this is an epitome of how fine details are taken care of.
Of course, besides showing the nokanshi procedures...this movie emphasise on family ties as well. As Daigo recounted how his dad made him learn the cello as a six year old boy and how they picked stones together... However his dad left him when he was a boy & his memory of his dad faded...till they met again at the end of the movie.
During the 130 minutes movie, it showed Diago playing the cello... yes, I am mesmerised by the nice tunes playing from the cello...really beautiful! All the more, when he played the cello in the open fields, it certainly makes u feel good. Finally, it's been such a long while since Ryoko Hirosue (广末凉子） appeared in any show! She could be best remembered for the jap drama serial 'Beach Boys'!
Below is a clip of the tune from the movie, enjoy!
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