The Funeral (1984)
"Osôshiki" (original title)

At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. The remainder of the film is episodic, moving from one incident to another over the ... See full summary »

Director:

Jûzô Itami

Writer:

Jûzô Itami

Stars:

Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Kin Sugai

19 wins & 5 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Wabisuke Inoue
Nobuko Miyamoto	...	Chizuko Amamiya
Kin Sugai	...	Kikue Amamiya
Hideji Ôtaki	...	Shokichi Amamiya
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Isao Bitô	...	Shigeru
Midori Ebina	...	Kiyo
Nekohachi Edoya	...	Ebihara
Kamatari Fujiwara	...	Small old man
Hideo Fukuhara	...	TV Studio Guard
Hiroko Futaba	...	Shokichi's Wife
Manpei Ikeuchi	...	Jiro
Yôsui Inoue	...	Telegram Deliverer
Masahiro Irie	...	VTR Operator
Ryôsuke Kagawa	...	Old People's Club Chairman
Akio Kaneda	...	Fuku

Storyline

At the beginning of the film the father-in-law of the protagonist dies unexpectedly of a heart attack. The remainder of the film is episodic, moving from one incident to another over the course of the three-day funeral, which is held (as is customary) in the home. These incidents contrast old ways and new ways, young and old, ritual ceremony and true feelings, often comically, but sometimes with real poignancy.

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Plot Keywords:

japan | crematorium | japanese

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Release Date:

16 March 1987 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Funeral

Company Credits

Production Co:

Itami Productions, New Century Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

124 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This was Jûzô Itami's first film as a director and writer.

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Goofs

Although the nails are heavily indented into the coffin lid in the house, in the subsequent walk to the hearse there is no sign of them, nor at the crematory.

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Connections

Referenced in Everybody Hates Chris: Everybody Hates the Bachelor Pad (2007)

User Reviews

A very good movie, very badly served

I had the good fortune to see 'The Funeral' in a real theater. The ultra-close-ups of the stockinged feet, magnified to 40 feet high, is unforgettable. Sadly, Fox Lorber has released 'The Funeral' on DVD using a scratched, pan-and-scan print. And since this film will never be a big best seller, I guess this is all we'll have. There's the inevitable comparison to 'Tampopo' and 'A Taxing Woman.' For me, 'The Funeral' is the best of the three because its humor is subtle and nuanced (the older brother in the foreground, trying to figure out which way is north, while the action goes on way off in the corner, is a perfect example). I still love 'Tampopo' (although it got the same rough treatment on DVD), but 'The Funeral' leaves me with more to feel, more to think about. I am certainly not Japanese, and I'm sure that much of the film flies by without my comprehending just what's going on. But I get more than enough from 'The Funeral' to make it one of my favorite films.