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Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano ... see more see more... , Kazuko Yoshiyuki , Tetta Sugimoto , Toru Minegishi , Tatsuo Yamada , Yukiko Tachibana

Director Yojiro Takita and writer Kundo Koyama examine the rituals surrounding death in Japan with this tale of an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as a "Nokanashi" or "encoffineer" (the Japanese... read more read more... equivalent of an undertaker) in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a talented musician, but when his orchestra is abruptly disbanded, he suddenly finds himself without a source of steady income. Making the decision to move back to his small hometown, Daigo answers a classified ad for a company called "Departures," mistakenly assuming that he will be working for a travel agency. Upon discovering that he will actually be preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their trip to the afterlife, Daigo accepts the position as gatekeeper between life and death and gradually gains a greater appreciation for life. But while Daigo's wife and friends universally despise his new line of work, he takes a great amount of pride in the fact that he is helping to ensure that the dead receive a proper send-off from this state of being. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

88% liked it

50,169 ratings

Critics

81% liked it

102 critics

PG-13, 2 hr. 11 min.

Directed by: Yojiro Takita

Release Date: May 29, 2009

Keywords: touching, foreign

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DVD Release Date: January 12, 2010

Stats: 2,378 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,378)

  • imrealgod
    November 30, 2011
    imrealgod
    Here's a good mixture of emotions, comedy and drama (could as well have served as a thriller had they thrown in some elements!!! JK) that strikes a chord with your heart and makes you chuckle occasionally. But unlike some have experienced, I didn't come across a sequence worth sh... read moreredding a tear. The duration could easily have been trimmed without affecting the quality of the movie. Reducing the number of encoffining ceremonies wouldn't have affected the significance of the movie or its title in my opinion. The movie left two important situations unexplained/incomplete, all the more for those who need everything spelled out to them!!! I wish the timing was rather allocated to elaborote those matters rather than showing the numerous encoffining procedures. Most disappointing was the sequence towards the end. Either the makers shouldn't have touched that topic (It could have been omitted. That wouldn't have been great, but I'd prefer omission to going for it given the way they did it.), but since they did, I wish they'd given it a decent shape. Except for those minute complaints, I find the movie fit to watch and enjoy. And if you don't mind exaggeration, it's a marvelous family drama not to be missed. The journey of the self-acclaimed loser deserves a watch.


    TIP: If you don't feel well and feel like throwing up, postpone viewing it for the time being. See if you can get anything else for time pass. Not that it's any hardcore, but at such times, even the least gross scene tend to be harmful. Good for you if it doesn't apply to you.
  • fb1216165431
    September 9, 2011
    fb1216165431
    On the premise that life is beautiful and death can be so beautiful, Departures lives on a story of heartfelt traditional Japanese casketing ceremony boasting metaphors and depth with strikes of wit and humor. Fascinating and moving, the masterful performances, beautiful cinemato... read moregraphy, and haunting musical score is none but an ode to beauty and perfection.
  • jennifxu
    April 30, 2011
    jennifxu
    Such an understated, beautifully rendered movie. It made me cry, multiple times.
  • itsjustme2004
    October 11, 2010
    itsjustme2004
    Slow paced, but beautiful and moving. Wonderful actors. Wonderful script.
  • gor41
    July 13, 2010
    gor41
    Sweet if a bit too saccharine for my tastes and there are bouts of histrionic acting which seemed out of place to my western eyes. The melodrama is milked by an intrusive score as well at times. The encoffinement scenes are transfixing and it is a shame we don't show our dead the... read more same tenderness and respect.
  • blacksheepboy
    March 5, 2010
    blacksheepboy
    A delicate, sensitive film with a delightful sense of humor and a haunting score, a sincere ode to beauty, of life and death, that speaks directly to the emotions, it feels quite impossible not to be moved by this beautiful masterpiece.
  • binky013
    January 25, 2010
    binky013
    Absolutely beautiful. Mahalo, Ira, for the recommendation. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: I do not like the Best Foreign Film category of the Oscars. I think any worthy film, regardless of what country it comes from, should be eligible for nomination in the Best... read more Film category. This one surely could have contended equally with Slumdog Millionaire, Benjamin Button, and the others.

    A great piece of writing centered around the vocation of encoffining, the preparation of the body for cremation, this film not only ponders the mystery of death, but it also sheds light on all sorts of familial relationships, keying on the main character's issues with his absent father. It's a wonderful cast working under superior direction. You can absolutely tell that everyone involved is committed to a first-class production.

    Finally, a word about Tsutomu Yamazaki. I had just seen him recently in The Ramen Girl, and if you've ever seen Tampopo, then you'll really get a feel for his versatility as an actor seeing this. That would be a great triple feature: Tampopo, followed by The Ramen Girl, with Departures rounding out the evening. It's your very own mini Tsutomu Yamazaki film festival : )
  • ajaymuthecooldevils
    January 22, 2010
    ajaymuthecooldevils
    A very beautiful movie from Yojiro Takita.. He made a great movie about life, and thing that connected between life and death with this job who delivers soul from the death into the world after death... Masahiro Motoki himself portrait a great encoffiner and a cellist too, I wond... read moreer if he really an actor or just a pro who becomes an actor... He really brings the beauty of what encoffiner do, while the other people still look this job as a 'tainted' and ashamed job... The other cast did a really great job too, like Tsutomo Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosuke, and Kimiko Yo... Another thing I can say is this is the best Japanese and probably Asian movies I've ever seen... With a 10 wins of 13 nominations in Awards of the Japanese Academy, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress and Best Screenplay, this movie also won an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Films... What an impressive note for this movie, I totally recommend it for you, all the audiences...
  • Saxia
    December 29, 2009
    Saxia
    This is how I like my movies, a perfect blend of humour and drama.
    And enough room for your own reflections while watching it.
    Beautiful, a definite must see!!!
    Personally the best movie of 2009!

    ... read moreres-11882685">
  • ScoopOnline
    December 19, 2009
    ScoopOnline
    The gift of last memories

View All Okuribito (Departures) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Maggie Lee
August 27, 2009
Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter

A moving celebration of life through showing reverence for death.

Bill Goodykoontz
July 16, 2009
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

The winning nature of the performances outweighs Takita's more obvious choices. Full Review

Roger Moore
July 9, 2009
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Departures is a loving tribute to the Japanese way of death. Full Review

Philip Kennicott
June 19, 2009
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post

It is as polished as it is heavy-handed, and it leaves one under a spell. Full Review

Ty Burr
June 18, 2009
Ty Burr, Boston Globe

This is the kind of tastefully poignant drama that asks its audience to confront taboos and then pats them on the back for doing so. Full Review

Colin Covert
June 12, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

One of the most shameless examples of emotional manipulation I've seen -- and one of the most effective. Full Review

James Adams
June 12, 2009
James Adams, Globe and Mail

It breaks no new ground, offers no audacious insights or rude revelations; toe follows tac as surely as tac follows tic. Full Review

Peter Howell
June 12, 2009
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Departures quietly subverts aesthetic and emotional expectations. There are moments where the story could turn maudlin or veer into bad taste, but the high-minded intent is never lost. Full Review

Carrie Rickey
June 11, 2009
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer

Yojiro Takita's movie simultaneously tickles tears of mourning as it wrings laughs about the meaning of life. Full Review

Andrew Sarris
June 3, 2009
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

The ultimate beauty of the film rests in its symbolic details that bridge the abyss between the living and the dead. As the French might say, it is to make one cry. Full Review

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