ScreenWize

The word ‘departures’, the leaving for places new, could easily be the title of the George Clooney comedy currently playing in cinemas, but in the case of the Japanese film and 2008 Foreign Language Oscar winner, Departures, the word represents much more weighty subject matter – death. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a struggling cello player in a private orchestra in Tokyo, with a loving and understanding wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue). When the orchestra closes, Daigo is forced to admit to himself he hasn’t the talent to find new work, or to make the repayments on his wildly expensive cello. Daigo and Mika up stumps for a new life in the house left to him by his mother in the small town he grew up in.

Scanning the want ads, ‘Departures’ is the name of an agency who offer him a job after the briefest of interviews, and while Daigo dreams of work in the travel industry, he soon discovers that Departures is a kind euphemism for the business of death. Under the watchful eye of boss Mr Sasaki (Tsutomu Yamazaki), Daigo learns the art of the ‘nakanshi’, who ritualistically prepare the corpse for the funeral. At first uncomfortable with death and awkward at dealing with the greiving, Daigo slowly finds a place for himself in his new job and his old community, though the shame of Daigo’s career choice is too much for Mika.

Coffining, the ritual washing and preparation of the body performed before and involving the family of the deceased, is an art - slow, intimate and beautiful. Much the same can be said of this film, whose restrained pacing and quietly sublime performance are captivating. Departures might be about the commerce of death, but like a Japanese Six Feet Under, writer Kundo Koyama finds the right sense of balance with moments of sharp black comedy. He finds sweet and subtle ways to express the complexity of human relationships.

Director Yojiro Takita does pull out some woefully obvious moments of apparent symbolism, but Takeshi Hamada’s camerawork is always lush, as is Joe Hisaishi’s score. The film’s finest moments are undoubtedly the fascinating scenes of coffining, for which Director Takita shows appreciative restraint. Lead Masahiro Motoki apprenticed with real nakanshi for the role, and you become entranced by his performance, and the gentle clash of ritual and grief, custom and modernity.

CK

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Filed Under: Reviews by Simon