Japanese, excellent subtitles, Netflix
131 minutes, 2008
5 Stars
If you like classical music, you will love the hauntingly beautiful cello score composed for this movie by Joe Hisaishi (the Asian John Williams). Asian cultures consider touching the deceased 'unclean' almost to the point of taboo. This is a charming story of a young man, Daigo, a recently unemployed symphony cellist who thinks he is applying for a job as a tourist agent to work with Departures only to discover there was a misprint in the paper, and he is hired – to prepare the Departed for encoffinment. Although death is the background, there is a great deal of laugh-out-loud humor in this story, as Daigo comes to grips with his new job. Hankies are also required occasionally. The photography, music, and acting combine seamlessly and won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2009.
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