Departures

(2008)

★ 7.9 IMDb · 959 votes

Genres: Drama

Year: 2008

Runtime: 130 мин

Country: Japan

Director: 滝田洋二郎

Cast: 本木雅弘, Рёко Хиросуэ, 山崎努, Кимико Йо, 杉本哲太, 峰岸徹, 山田辰夫, 橘ユキコ, 橘ゆかり, 朱源実

Plot

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.