Okuribito (Departures) (2008).

The first Japanese non-Anime filme I've seen, Departures tells the story of Daigo in his mid-twenties, leaving his careers as a cellist and moving from Tokyo back to Yamagata in the countryside. He accidentally stumbles upon the position of an encoffiner, a profession in a very niche market. The job involves cleansing, clothing and making-up corpses to prepare them for entry into the coffin. Upon discovering his new profession, his wife asks him to quit. His refusal of this request creates tension between their marriage. As the story unfolds, the audience is drawn to have the same feelings about the job as his wife does.. at first shocked and disgusted.. but then after seeing the graceful and precise nature of the process, an understanding is realised in the regard that Daigo has an important role in the community to help those passed away onto the "next journey". What's nice about this film is the detail in the characters. Though there are very few main characters, the secondary characters have strong sub-plots, which leave lasting impressions. During the film, Daigo takes on numerous jobs, all of which are shown in their entirety. Yet despite this, it doesn't bore as you're still captivated by the role that the encoffiner plays, especially for the family as they are watching the whole thing. It's almost as if the calming and gentle motions of handling the corpse helps the families come to terms with what has happened, each showing it in a different way. Thus giving you an idea of what the dead person was actually like when alive. One that sticks in my mind is when the females of the family all kiss the deceased grandfather, leaving red lipstick stains on his face.

Despite being based on a heavy subject, humour does exist in this film and it provides some more uplifting topics than death and bereavement. However, I wouldn't say that the film is about death, but about reconciliation and forgiveness amongst other themes. One thing the film does lack is a climax, though the artistic way in which the story is told makes this such a simple yet enlightening film. Joe Hisaishi composed the soundtrack for this film, which accompanies the more scenic shots beautifully. The cinematography in some parts of the film was a bit too random.. like Daigo playing the cello on a hill in the countryside.. or the numerous shots of birds flying or otherwise. Though I guess it links to the idea of journeys and looking forward in life. This film won the 2009 Oscar Award for Best Foreign Film, and I can see why. The views of the Japanese countryside, shots of the train station and the houses really reminded me of past Animes that I've seen which was refreshing, knowing that the cartoons are based on the reality :) Thoroughly enjoyable.