When Departures won the best foreign movie award at the Oscars, I was quite taken aback, I've never heard of it and the victory can be considered as an underdog story. Many critics thought that Waltz With Bashir was gonna take the cake, but after watching Departures I knew exactly why it won. This is a beautiful movie, storytelling to the artistic shots used by director Yojiro Takita. It covers the heartland of Japan and an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan's cultural heritage. The movie revolves around Daigo a musician who is unemployed, he needed to get a job desperately to support him and his wife, Mika. Spotting a Help Wanted ad featuring the word “departures,” he is excited about the prospect of trying a new career in the travel industry. He arrives for the interview, curiously eyeing the coffins lining the back wall of the office. The company owner, Sasaki instantly was taken by Daigo and hired him on the spot, he basically made him an offer he can't refuse.
Daigo would have to work in a funeral home, something he was not totally honest about to his wife, the story starts revealing itself when Mika finds out about Daigo's new role and with it, it brings a new prospect on death, the elegant culture of Japan's funeral process and the beauty of developing new bonds and discovering old bonds. A masterpiece indeed and part of the story revolves around a rock, that I would say is the most endearing aspect to the film.. 2 thumbs up!
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