Okuribito [Departures] (***½)

Directed by: Yôjirô Takita
Starring: Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ryoko Hirosue, Kazuko Yoshiyuki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi Sasano
Seen: November 6th 2009

***½ Out of ****

A Cello unlocks a certain region of my heart. It relaxes me, regardless of circumstances. I can simply close my eyes, sit back, and let the music come gently rushing over me; it calms my soul to an enormous extent. Daigo Kobayashi (Motoki) plays the Cello in a Tokyo orchestra, but the orchestra is disbanded because of dwindling public attendance at shows, even though their music is brilliant – as is shown with a spectacular and breathtaking performance of “Ode to Joy” from Beethoven’s 9th.

Daigo, crushed by this development, has to sell his Cello (which he purchased for ¥18,000,000 – about R1.5 million, or $200,000) as he can’t afford it anymore, and in the same breath decides to leave Tokyo and move back to his old hometown, Sakata, in the Japanese province Yamagata, with his wife Mika (Hirosue). She is extremely supportive and does not offer one objection to this, as Daigo’s mother left him a home in Sakata, and they would not have to pay rent or bond when they move in. The house is very cosy, and they feel at home in no time, while Daigo searches for a job. He sees an advert in a local newspaper for a job relating to “Departures”, and assumes it must be a travel agency. His interview is extremely short, and he is hired almost on the spot. The job is not in the field of travelling, however, as Daigo soon finds out. He is the new assistant for the town “encoffiner” – he forms part of mourning ceremonies when people die, he does the cleaning, dressing, and make-up of the recently departed while the family looks on.

Understandably, he keeps this from his wife, as he himself initially does not want to do this but finds the salary to be very convenient. He does eventually become very good at this job, but at a price – he is shunned by the towns people because of the unclean nature of his employment. The beauty and awkwardness displayed in the scenes where he assists families to say goodbye to their loved ones is astonishing – the Japanese have not yet lost the feeling so sorely lacking in most American movies. It is also interesting to see the change of heart in those people who’ve shunned him, but for whom he has done an “encoffinment”. This feeling also not only limited to the “encoffinment” scenes, but pretty much every scene in the movie. The story is rich and rewarding if you’re willing to take on the subtitles, something that has luckily never bothered me.

Mika is played with such an innocent and exuberant sweetness and beauty that you can’t help being drawn to her, and her need to be her husband’s “assistant” (not with his work, but in life) filters through even as she insists that he needs her. Daigo is a timid but devoted young man who takes hard issues in life on himself, always trying to shelter those closest to him, even though it does not always have the best effect. All the supporting characters lend a hand in creating this stunningly beautiful movie that shows the power of dealing with death rather than avoiding it. The Japanese culture is richly portrayed from their incredibly respectful approach to the dead to something as simple as bathhouse etiquette (even if that is more of a background realisation). Departures is a gem that many will pass by because of the subtitle barrier, but I urge you to take the leap – you won’t be disappointed. I actually rather suspect that even without the sublime music you will be very moved by the simple and elegant story.