Movie: Departures - Okuribito (Yojiro Takita, 2008) .
Daigo (Masahiro Motoko) is a cellist who has spent most of his youth pursuing a musical career, knowing deep down that he is a merely moderate talent. When his orchestra in Tokyo disbands, he suggests to his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue) to move back to his hometown, where they can live in the house of his mother who died two years ago (his father abandoned them when he was a kid). Daigo hasn't been back for much longer, missing the funeral because "he was living abroad." That might be technically true, but we get the sense that he was abroad precisely so he would have a good excuse to not deal with the complexities, both practical and emotional, of his mother dying. He's now reached the point where he can't run away from such complexities, but actually being an adult who takes responsibility for difficult decisions is different than merely acting like one. It requires a leap that's hard to make, and Departures is above everything else a really perceptive film about how it feels to be stuck in the strange confusing place between becoming mature and genuinely feeling that your maturity is an authentic part of your self you can act on. I loved the small moment when, in conversation with his wife, Daigo strokes his chin in weary contemplation and becomes briefly self-conscious about it, baffled that such a distinctly 'adult' gesture suddenly comes so naturally to him.
Departures depicts Daigo's transition through a story of morticians following traditional rituals to prepare the dead for their burial or cremation, a controversial topic in Japan where there is a social taboo on dealing with death. When Daigo responds to the job ad looking for someone to work with 'departures', he thinks he will be some sort of travel agent. He remains convinced of the same after a phone conversation with his boss-to-be, and only finds out that he will be actually working as an assistant mortician after being offered the position, when he has essentially no choice but to accept it. At first sight, this may look like an obvious plot contrivance the film is forced into, being unable to show someone voluntarily wanting to work as an embalmer. However, earlier in the film we've seen Daigo lie to his wife about the true cost of his cello, and he continues to lie to her once he gets the job. When she finds out and leaves him in disgust, his dinners amount to bread and butter, while the dishes keep piling up. In other words, Daigo is exactly the kind of guy who may end up in a career he doesn't want, simply because he'll prefer to let life happen rather than get uncomfortable addressing potential frictions and misunderstandings.
You get no points for guessing if his new vocation makes Daigo more comfortable with the acts of adulthood and whether it eventually makes his marriage happier. Such predictability isn't a major issue when a film is so immensely likeable and absolutely spot on in presenting the dynamics between a kindly, yet stern boss, his new apprentice/colleague and their supportive office manager during the first days on a niche job. I do think that in trying to make death feel more 'normal' it overcorrects a little, making it seem a bit too clean and agreaable, but I rather liked the patience and attention to detail with which Takita depicts the encoffining rituals. In front of their grieving families, the bodies are shaved, washed, dressed and cleaned up for their 'final journey, following a strict order the 'nokanshi' never deviate from. The families watch the procedure while sitting on the floor, with each ceremony creating a personal connection to the departed by incorporating objects that were important to them during their life. Takita shows it all from the point of view of the bereaved; the camera remaims close to the ground, making sure to not 'hover' over the dead, at least until they are placed in the coffin. Everything is filmed to emphasise as much as possible the dignity of the custom and to show how it creates the sense that everyone's life, regardless of background, was important enough to warrant such reverent treatment. It's notable that the film begins with the procession of a trans person. The family quibbles about whether they are burying a man or a woman, and they try to convince Daigo and his boss (Tsutomo Yamazaki, a veteran of Akira Kurosawa's films) to take a side. They remain stonefaced throughout. They might have an opinion, but their job is to give the dead a worthy farewell, regardless of their thoughts about them.
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