Yôjirô Takita's Okuribito or Departures, is one of the finest movies I have seen in a long time. It is not at all a horror movie, as long time readers of this blog might expect from me. It is a meditation on death and grieving, and it is one of those films that present a very interesting and somewhat alien feature of another culture.
Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) is a cello player who is forced to leave Tokyo when his orchestra folds. He takes his wife Mika, played brilliantly and slyly by the spunky Ryoko Hirosue, to live in the house his mother left him in his old home town. There are a lot of themes here familiar to fans of Japanese cinema. . The Japanese treasure virtuosity. Daigo realizes he doesn't have it, at least on the big fiddle. He also feels guilt that he wasn't there when his mother passed away.
Back in Sakata, he answers a classified ad for "Assisting Departures." He supposes it's some kind of travel agency. What it is, of course, is the heart of the movie. His job is to ritually prepare a dead body for "encoffinment". This involves undressing, washing and preparing the body, and redressing, all under the watchful eyes of the mourners who sit on cushions. It has to be done in a very careful, scripted way, so that no one sees anything embarrassing or unpleasant. It also involves applying makeup to restore the face of the deceased, as best he can, to present a final pleasant memory to the family.
Daigo must overcome his initial revulsion at dealing with dead bodies. He quickly discovers that, unlike the cello, he has a real talent for this. That discovery locks him in. The profession chooses the man. It is also a problem. The Japanese are at once less religious and more superstitious than Americans. Their national God was deposed by American might, and nothing has replaced him. But the traditional spirits and demigods largely survived, along with the spirits of the dead. Daigo initially hides the nature of his new job from his wife, but Mika does find out and she is appalled. An old friend refuses to speak to him on the street. Death is apparently seen as something that is more or less contagious. To touch the dead on a regular basis is scandalous.
Of course, death is a scandal in all cultures. If this film is an accurate presentation of the Japanese funeral industry, it is interesting to note that the role of the undertaker (pick up the coffin for cremation) and the role of the NK agent are distinct. In America, we let the undertaker take care of the most unpleasant business. Our funerals have moved in the Japanese direction, with our PowerPoint presentations celebrating the life of the deceased.
However, judging entirely by the film, I like the Japanese way better. The preparation of the corpse makes the fact of death more vivid but it also affords the living a perfect moment to take the memory of the loved one into their hearts. Nowhere is life more robustly evident than at this kind of ceremony. I like the public attention to the body.
Departures is a splendid movie. It is somber enough in its parts, but overall it is happy and reaffirming. It has a lot of great cello music. Put in on your Netflix cue. You won't be disappointed.
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