Departures

Total running time: 131 min
Rating: M (Mature themes)
Session date/time: Saturday, September 4, 2010 at ?pm

 

Departures (Okuribito) follows Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Spotting a Help Wanted ad featuring the word “departures,” he is excited about the prospect of trying a new career in the travel industry. Daigo is hired on the spot, only later learning exactly what the job entails: the ceremonial “encoffination” of corpses prior to cremation. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work, acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. Daigo is on a profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

The drama, Japan movie Departures (Okuribito) is directed by Yôjirô Takita and stars Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue.

 

NB: Japanese language dialogue with English language subtitles.