DEPARTURES

It is common to say of films “Oh, it made me laugh, it made me cry”. It’s a cliché, but we very rarely think how difficult it actually is to pull this off without one or the other looking cheesy. Don’t get me wrong, I had not thought much about this either, until I got round to watching Departures – the 2009 Best Foreign Film Oscar ® winner. You may have realized by now that Asian cinema has a special place in my heart. Departures is a perfect example of Asian (Japanese to be precise) grace and finesse.
So, meet Daigo Kobayashi. He is a cello player in a big orchestra in Tokyo. He is happily married to Mika – a web designer – in short things are kinda going ok for him. Until, quite out of the blue, the orchestra Daigo works for is disbanded. (pardon the pun) Daigo decides that this is the moment to make a fresh start. And by fresh I mean completely fresh, Daigo considers himself a mediocre musician. He decides to leave Tokyo for the small village in rural Japan where he was born and find “a proper job” there. Mika (who can basically work from anywhere) agrees to follow, so before long the Kobayashis have settled in the old house Daigo’s mother left him. All is well, far from missing the city country life seems to agree with the young couple – “even the rice tastes better” claims Mika cheerfully. And sure enough one morning over breakfast Daigo spies an ad for a job in the newspapers .From what he gathers it’s a tourism agency – the pay is good and no prior experience is necessary. What is better, Daigo’s luck is with him – he calls, is called for an interview and gets the job with mind numbing speed. It is only then that Daigo realizes there is some kind of mistake. This isn’t a tourism agency. It’s an undertakers. A traditional undertakers – they prepare the “departed” ceremonially before cremation. It is a job that is essential – but considered “unclean”. Daigo hesitates, but they need the money and the owner is a lonely old man. Daigo takes the job – but is “economical” with what he tells Mika (just in case). For Daigo, a journey has just begun. A journey of discovery – of himself, of his vocation and ultimately the true meaning of forgiveness…
Departures is a perfect example of the grace of Asian cinema. It is an emotional film – and I am talking true emotion here. Don’t forget that death is one of the lead actors – emotion and more specifically sadness comes with the territory. But this is no tear-jerker. It’s the Asian “stiff upper lip”. It’s normal people like you and me coping with loss in their own ways. Yet, in the same way that real life is rarely monochrome – neither is Departures. The film absolutely forces one to laugh – genuinely. Not “American Pie” style. It is, to all intents and purposes, a door that opens up on a slice of life that we in the West would never have discovered in any other way. Incidentally, this film was born from the lead actor Masahiro Motoki’s personal interest in the profession of encoffining. I can well see why. You would have to watch the film for that to make sense though.
A delicate masterpiece well worth enjoying…