Departures

First on purchasing... The price was right for this movie since it is quite difficult (if not impossible) to find in-stores. Although at one point the movie trading company told me they could order it, I prefer using online tools so that the items are shipped directly to my home. This product came when promised and was packaged properly, with no defects. Now on to the important stuff... This is one of my all-time favorite films. My husband and I rented it on a whim when it was first released and were always glad we did. I was recently looking for reviews on other movies (it is so hard to find something with a real story and little to no sex, violence, ghosts, demons, vampires, etc. these days) when I was reminded of this one. Luckliy Amazon had it! Departures is very touching and well acted. The main character, Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is very expressive and entertaining to watch. You can really see his emotions in his face and body language. He really begs for your empathy for his plight and fosters a deep adoration for him in the midst of his triumphs and failures. Although for me this movie is a real tear-jerker, it is not the kind that leaves you exhausted at the end. It is so full of hope, love and forgiveness, I feel very peaceful every time I watch it, with an appreciation of the relationships I have (with all their ups and downs). I believe there is a little something for everyone in this movie as it focuses on all types of relationships... husband/wife, mother/child, father/child... and the loss, turmoil, redemption and forgiveness that each relationship can have. Parental guidance notes: This is really a movie about adult relationships... I'm not sure that many (younger than their 20s) would appreciate it as much, as it deals so heavily with complex and sometimes painful relationships. However my teenage daughter did watch and enjoy it. There are scenes that include a public bath house and in a few of these scenes you can see various people (including the main character) nude, from the side. Nothing explicit is shown and although I do not approve of nudity in films, I was not offended by any of the scenes in this movie. In fact in one with the main character, he is washing himself to remove more than just physical dirt and I believe was a good way to show what he was going through at that time. There is also a touching scene between the husband and wife where she thinks that he is trying to be romantic with her in the kitchen, which she finds inappropriate and a little frightening (because of his intensity). However the scene is really not about sex, it is more about the tenderness and affectionate needs he has for his wife (and needs from her) at the time. That being said, it is not something I would find appropriate for most children/teens to watch as they could not possibly understand what is really going on. I highly recommend using IMDB to research specific parental guidance topics before watching any movie. There is a detailed one for this movie, which I found very helpful the first time I watched it.

Departures (おくりびと, Hepburn: Okuribito, "one who sends off") (2008) is a Japanese drama film directed by Yōjirō Takita, starring Masahiro Motoki, Ryōko Hirosue, & Tsutomu Yamazaki. The film follows a young man who returns to his hometown after a failed career as a cellist & stumbles across work as a nōkanshi (a traditional Japanese ritual mortician). He is subjected to prejudice from those around him, including from his wife, because of strong social taboos against people who deal with death. Here are the pros & cons of this film as I see it, I hope this helps you. Pros: 1. This film makes it on my personal list of my favourite films of all time (currently a list of only 29 films) 2. Nice cinematography 3. Very well directed, edited, & superb acting overall 4. An interesting film on many levels including culture 5. Excellent story & plot 6. Nice music 7. This film runs the gamut of emotions & is one of the rare films that made me laugh out loud in parts Cons: 1. This film made me miss Japan & the wonderful people I met & know there

Excellent movie. Subtitles are easy to read. Subject of the movie is how a different culture handles death and living. Don’t be put off by death, see life.

There is little to add to the other many five star reviews. I have never seen a film deal so directly and movingly with the subject of death. And the acting was so excellent that I marveled at it throughout the film. I especially loved the performance of Tsutomu Yamazaki, who subtly plays the boss of the young man who unexpectedly finds himself working as an encoffiner(the art of "Nokanshi")when he mistakenly answers a classified ad thinking it is for a tour agent. As he continues in his new profession of preparing the dead for funerals and entry to the next life, he grows in awareness and has a new weltanschauung as a result. He doesn't tell his wife until she finds out by accident what he is doing. Then she is revolted and disgusted. But she comes round in the end to also see life differently. The only weakness I could find in the film is that I felt the beginning moved along a little too slowly, while the final scene would have been more effective had it been a bit shorter. All in all, a decidedly great, profound and extremely moving (sometimes even very comical) cinematic feat which gives one food for thought long after one has viewed it, which is what all great movies do.

Nokan erzählt die Geschichte eines professionellen Cello-Spielers, dessen Orchester aufgelöst wurde. Auf der Suche nach Arbeit findet der einstige Berufsmusiker seine eigentliche Berufung in dem traditionellen Ritual des Aufbahrens von Toten. Von nun an wäscht, schminkt und kleidet er kürzlich Verstorbene vor den Augen ihrer trauernden Verwandten und Freunde. Durch dieses vom Aufbahrer vollzogene nur noch vereinzelt praktizierte Ritual können sich die Anwesenden in aller Ruhe vom Dahingeschiedenen verabschieden. Indem der Tote hergerichtet wird, lebt er – auch dank des Make-ups – für einen Moment wieder auf. Die zeremonielle Aufbahrung ermöglicht den Trauernden die letztmalige Chance, sich mit dem Toten zu versöhnen und macht ein Loslassen umso leichter. Der Film setzt einen Kontrapunkt zur Tabuisierung des Todes in der modernen Gesellschaft. Denn durch die Tabuisierung des Todes in der Moderne, gehen die Trauernden für gewöhnlich auch zu den Toten auf Distanz, weshalb den meisten Menschen ein Gehenlassen des Toten so schwer fällt. Nokan ruft ganz nebenbei dazu auf, sozialem Druck nicht immer nach zu geben. Denn obwohl der Beruf des Aufbahrers verpönt ist, hält der Protagonist an seiner neuen Arbeit fest. Die Botschaft des Films lautet: nur wer etwaigem Achtungsentzug seines Umfeldes mitunter Stand hält, kann seinen eigenen Weg finden. Oder anders ausgedrückt: nur wer authentisch ist, dem wird Respekt gezollt. Neben seinen vielen herzzerreißenden Momenten hat der Film auch humorige Stellen. Der Film besticht außerdem durch die Stimmigkeit von Bild und Musik. Ein Tipp zum Schluss: den Film guckt man am Besten in der Originalsprache (deutsche Untertitel können im Hauptmenü ausgewählt werden). Die deutschen Synchronstimmen spiegeln die Stimmung nicht so gut wieder, wie die Originalstimmen. Sehr aufschlussreich ist das Interview mit dem Regisseur des Films, das sich in den Extras auf der DVD befindet. Der Regisseur erklärt darin einzelne Szenen und gibt Auskunft zur Entstehungsgeschichte des Films.

Film de 2011, réalisé par Yojiro Takita. Oscar du meilleur film étranger. 10 Prix de l'Académie cinématographique japonaise, dont meilleur film, meilleur acteur, meilleur réalisateur, meilleur scénario. Ce film entièrement japonais est présenté comme "un superbe voyage initiatique", et c'est un peu le cas. C'est surtout le chemin de cet homme, musicien, qui doit chercher un nouveau travail et qui découvre l'univers des thanatopracteurs, de ceux qui accompagnent les morts après le décès, et qui ont un rôle extrêmement important au Japon. Mais ce sont aussi des bannis. Et cet homme, parce que cette nouvelle profession l'aide à parcourir pour lui-même un chemin intérieur qu'il n'avait pas pu réaliser jusque-là, choisit sans difficulté d'accepter les conséquences que cette profession de "banni" lui impose. Progressivement, sa vie évolue, se transforme, sa manière de considérer les choses, les gens, les situations, aussi, et sa relation à son histoire personnelle se pacifie. Il y a des scènes insolites très drôles, de cet humour fin suggéré par les attitudes et les réparties des protagonistes, cocasses sans jamais être vulgaires, qui donnent à ce sujet délicat et parfois dramatique qu'est la mort une forme de légèreté, d'humanité, touchante. Un film magnifique, où l'on suit le chemin de cet homme avec beaucoup d'émotions, et en même temps très instructif puisqu'il nous montre une importante partie de la vie des japonais, leur positionnement, leurs rites, au moment d'un décès.

This is such a good film that it has to be in my top 30 movies. I originally saw it at a film conference at Glastone's Library a five muinet clip. There are not many films that treat death and how the dead are respected as this film dose. The sense of dignity that is there is worthy of a closest examination. With gentle humourn the film showsnthe dignity of preparing for peoples departure, not (and this is not a real spoiler) for their holiday but following their death. In the UK in the past it was the community mid wife who prepared the body for the funeral director to come and collect - laying it out washing and dressing it. A friend who's husband recently died said this was done by a couple of the carers who again did it with a great deal of dignity. Departures is a great film the humour makes it lighter and the acting is superb, the direction well orchestrated and the music will haunt you until you look it up on the web.

DVDは持っていましたがやはり画質はブルーレイに及ばず、しかも残念ながら日本盤ブルーレイがなく輸入盤を検討しましたが、高価で諦めかけていたところ中古があるのを見つけ、安く購入できました。リージョンBですがPCソフトの設定をイギリス等リージョンBの国設定にしたところ問題なく再生できました。ただ英語字幕は消せませんがそれでもブルーレイの高画質で観れるのは魅力ですね。いい作品はやはり高画質で観るとより没入感に浸れます。(追記)あとでわかったことですが、リージョン設定は変更できる回数に限りがあって通常5回までとなっているため、他の作品のリージョンAに変更するとその分変更可能回数が減っていき、しまいには変更できなくなってしまうため問題です。リージョンフリーなら問題ないですが現在これを回避する方法を模索中です。

La producción de Despedidas duró más de 10 años. El resultado final es una película de una factura muy difícil de igualar. Puro esmero y sensibilidad. Una obra de arte. La historia que nos cuenta está inspirada en el libro autobiográfico Nōkanfu Nikki de Shinmon Aoki (Coffinman: The journal of a Buddhist mortitian). Lo único que yo le reprocharía a Despedidas es que su guión prescinde de la profundidad de la historia real que lo inspiró. Nuevamente, la realidad supera a la ficción y es todavía más poética e increíble. No se la pierdan.