FILMS/
DEPARTURES
Okuribito
World Cinema
Japan, 2008, 131 minutes
SHOWTIMES
Sat, May 2 / 11:00 / Clay / DEPA02Y
CREDITS
- dir
-
Yojiro Takita
- prod
-
Toshiaki Nakazawa,Toshihisa Watai
- scr
-
Kundo Koyama
- cam
-
Takeshi Hamada
- editor
-
Akimasa Kawashima
- mus
-
Joe Hisaishi
- cast
-
Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Kazuko Yoshiyuki
- source
-
Regent Releasing, 10990 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 1800, Los Angeles, CA 90024. EMAIL: jalambert@regentreleasing.com.
Tough times can inspire unusual career choices, but usually none so drastic as that of Daigo Kobayashi, a cellist who loses his job when his Tokyo orchestra disbands. Looking for a fresh start, he and his wife move back to his hometown, where he answers an ad titled Departures. The good news is that the business is hiring; the bad news is that it is not the travel agency Daigo anticipated, but a mortuary. He takes the position and embarks on his new life as a nokanshi, a professional who prepares bodies for burial. Though his wife is sickened by his work, Daigo begins to feel a sense of purpose in his role as a compassionate liaison between the living and the dead. This year’s Academy Award–winner for Best Foreign Language Film is a touching exploration of what it means to truly live.
