Plot: A cello player's dream is crushed when his orchestra is dissolved. looking for a job, he accidentally lands himself in a small company that deals with death ceremonies. He is reluctant at first, but soon gets the hang of it. He faces 3 separate problems; with his wife, his father and his mother.
Departures wonderfully depicts Japanese funeral processions, fitting in good humour at the same time. However, it does not deliver a dark tale, but rather a melancholic one, in a way that maintains respect to death. it shows that death is peaceful and earning a living off the dead is not such a bad thing. It got a bit draggy, but... its Japanese. the jokes are really good, and the script was well-developed. By the way, Departures is the Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Academy Awards, beating the Golden Globe winner, Waltz with Bashir(Israel).
Rating: 4.5
