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    Departures

    Original title: Okuribito
    • 20082008
    • PG-13PG-13
    • 2h 10min
    IMDb RATING
    8.1/10
    49K
    YOUR RATING
    • Cast & crew
    • User reviews
    • Trivia
    • IMDbPro
    Okuribito (2008)
    This is the trailer for Departures.
    Trailer1:52
    1 Video
    99+ Photos
    DramaMusic

    A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.

    • Director
      • Yôjirô Takita
    • Writer
      • Kundô Koyama(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Masahiro Motoki
      • Ryôko Hirosue
      • Tsutomu Yamazaki
    Top credits
    • Director
      • Yôjirô Takita
    • Writer
      • Kundô Koyama(screenplay)
    • Stars
      • Masahiro Motoki
      • Ryôko Hirosue
      • Tsutomu Yamazaki
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 161User reviews
    • 179Critic reviews
    • 68Metascore
  • See production, box office & company info
    • Won 1 Oscar
      • 40 wins & 12 nominations total

    Videos1

    Departures
    Trailer 1:52
    Departures

    Photos417

    Masahiro Motoki in Okuribito (2008)
    Masahiro Motoki and Tsutomu Yamazaki in Okuribito (2008)
    Masahiro Motoki and Tsutomu Yamazaki in Okuribito (2008)
    Ryôko Hirosue and Masahiro Motoki in Okuribito (2008)
    Ryôko Hirosue and Masahiro Motoki in Okuribito (2008)
    Ryôko Hirosue and Kazuko Yoshiyuki in Okuribito (2008)
    Ryôko Hirosue and Masahiro Motoki in Okuribito (2008)
    Masahiro Motoki and Takashi Sasano in Okuribito (2008)
    Masahiro Motoki and Tsutomu Yamazaki in Okuribito (2008)
    Masahiro Motoki, Tsutomu Yamazaki, and Kimiko Yo in Okuribito (2008)
    Okuribito (2008)
    Okuribito (2008)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Masahiro Motoki
    Masahiro Motoki
    • Daigo Kobayashias Daigo Kobayashi
    Ryôko Hirosue
    Ryôko Hirosue
    • Mika Kobayashias Mika Kobayashi
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    Tsutomu Yamazaki
    • Ikuei Sasakias Ikuei Sasaki
    Kazuko Yoshiyuki
    Kazuko Yoshiyuki
    • Tsuyako Yamashitaas Tsuyako Yamashita
    Kimiko Yo
    Kimiko Yo
    • Yuriko Uemuraas Yuriko Uemura
    Takashi Sasano
    • Shokichi Hirataas Shokichi Hirata
    Tetta Sugimoto
    • Yamashitaas Yamashita
    Tôru Minegishi
    • Yoshiki Kobayashias Yoshiki Kobayashi
    Tatsuo Yamada
    • Togashias Togashi
    Yukari Tachibana
    Tarô Ishida
    • Sonezakias Sonezaki
    Sanae Miyata
    • Naomi Togashias Naomi Togashi
    Ryôsuke Ôtani
    • Tomeo's fatheras Tomeo's father
    Mitsuyo Hoshino
    • Kazuko Kobayashias Kazuko Kobayashi
    Tatsuhito Okuda
    Tatsuhito Okuda
    Akemi Fuji
    Miyako Hattori
    • Grandmotheras Grandmother
    Mari Hayashida
    • Director
      • Yôjirô Takita
    • Writer
      • Kundô Koyama(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    See production, box office, & company info

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    9.0
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    Storyline

    Edit
    Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living. —Regent Releasing
    cellistfuneralfather son relationshippregnant wifeundressing someone155 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • The gift of last memories
    • Genres
      • Drama
      • Music
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated PG-13 for thematic material
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Masahiro Motoki also learned how to play a cello for the earlier parts of the film.
    • Goofs
      The main protagonist (Masahiro Motoki) has his cheek cut during the filming scene. This is covered in subsequent scene. In the next scene both the covering and the scar of the cut is gone.
    • Quotes

      Mika Kobayashi: What are you doing?

      Daigo Kobayashi: This one. Here.

      Mika Kobayashi: What?

      Daigo Kobayashi: A stone letter.

      Mika Kobayashi: Stone letter?

      Daigo Kobayashi: Long ago, before writing, you'd send someone a stone that suited the way you were feeling. From its weight and touch, they'd know how you felt. From a smooth stone they might get that you were happy, or from a rough one that you were worried about them.

      Mika Kobayashi: Thank you.

      Daigo Kobayashi: What did you feel?

      Mika Kobayashi: Not telling. That's a lovely story. Who told you?

      Daigo Kobayashi: My dad.

      Mika Kobayashi: You mean... that big rock?

      Daigo Kobayashi: Yep. I got it from him.

      Mika Kobayashi: I didn't know that.

      Daigo Kobayashi: He said he'd send me one every year, but that's all I ever got. That jerk!

    • Connections
      Featured in At the Movies: The Worst Films of 2009 (2010)
    • Soundtracks
      Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Op. 125 - 'Choral': IV. Presto, Allegro assai
      Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

    User reviews161

    Review
    Top review
    8/10
    Lyrical Film About Finding Passion in an Unlikely Profession
    Without irony, there is a funereal grace to this 2009 dramedy, so much so that one can sometimes hear the distinct echoes of film master Yasujiro Ozu ("Tokyo Story") in director Yojiro Takita's subtle yet stately look at the business of preparing deceased bodies for their caskets. Ozu's influence can be felt most in the quietude of tone that reveals the inevitability of death with both grim humor and spiritual awakening. The film's lyricism rests on the mournful cello accompaniment of the protagonist, Daigo Kobayashi, a young cellist who finds himself jobless after his Tokyo-based orchestra is disbanded. Out of economic necessity, he and his sunny, supportive wife Mika move back to his late mother's house up north in Yamagata.

    As outlined in Kundo Koyama's somewhat methodical screenplay, the story focuses on the challenge Daigo faces in finding one's place in life, no matter how dubious it may seem to others. Daigo, bereft of his passion, answers a job ad involving "departures", which leads him to believe the company is a travel agency. However, he quickly realizes the two-person operation is actually about preparing bodies for burial, ritually cleansing and cloaking them while the mourners watch. Initially aghast, he is convinced by the taciturn owner Mr. Sasaki that he is ideal for the role of assistant and offers him the job. He has to fight his own prejudices as well as others about the supposed unseemliness of his profession, including Mika, who finds out her husband's new profession and pronounces him unclean. Daigo, however, realizes he has found his passion in the pre-burial ceremony, and Sasaki teaches him the ropes in a way that recalls Juzo Itami's beloved 1985 comedy, "Tampopo".

    Former boy-band singer Masahiro Motoki is genuinely affecting as Daigo, while Ryoko Hirosue brings a surprising layer of complexity to the perennially sunny Mika. The deadpan Tsutomu Yamazaki makes Sasaki the film's key gravitational element with a minimum of effort, while Kimiko Yo shows an offbeat quality as his office manager Yuriko. The cinematography by Takeshi Hamada is top-notch with some memorable images offered along the way (like Daigo playing his cello on a hilltop), and Joe Hisaishi's ("Kikujiro") music score allows dramatic sweep without getting too epic. On the downside, the film runs too long at 130 minutes, and there are moments when the comedy is played too broadly and the sentiment laid on too thick. Still, the movie shows Japanese cinema still exudes a unique identity, and there is global vitality still in that country's film industry. A brief interview with Takita is the major bonus on the 2010 DVD.
    helpful•11
    1
    • EUyeshima
    • Mar 13, 2010

    FAQ4

    • What is "Departures" about?
    • What does the Japanese title for the movie, "Okuribito", mean?
    • Is "Okuribito" based on a book?

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 19, 2009 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • Japan
    • Official sites
      • Official site (Japan)
      • Official site (United States)
    • Language
      • Japanese
    • Also known as
      • Final de partida
    • Filming locations
      • Sakata, Yamagata, Japan
    • Production companies
      • Amuse Soft
      • Asahi Shimbun
      • Dentsu
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $1,498,210
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $74,945
      • May 31, 2009
    • Gross worldwide
      • $70,636,951
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 2h 10min
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.85 : 1

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