#Departures-2008Film | Reviews of Departures (2008 film) in Japanese Movies| Hashreview

Review# tag

Hash title

Description

is a 2008 Japanese drama film directed by Yōjirō Takita and starring Masahiro Motoki, Ryōko Hirosue, and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Loosely based on Coffinman, a memoir by Shinmon Aoki, the film follows a young man who returns to his hometown after a failed career as a cellist and stumbles across work as a {{transl|ja|nōkanshi}}—a traditional Japanese ritual mortician. He is subjected to prejudice from those around him, including from his wife, because of strong social taboos against people who deal with death. Eventually he earns their respect and learns the importance of interpersonal connections through the beauty and dignity of his work.The idea for Departures arose after Motoki, affected by having seen a funeral ceremony along the Ganges when travelling in India, read widely on the subject of death and came across Coffinman. He felt that the story would adapt well to film, and Departures was finished a decade later. Because of Japanese prejudices against those who handle the dead, distributors were reluctant to release it—until a surprise grand prize win at the Montreal World Film Festival in August 2008. The following month the film opened in Japan, where it went on to win the Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and become the year's highest-grossing domestic film. This success was topped in 2009, when it became the first Japanese production to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.Departures received mixed to positive reviews, with aggregator Rotten Tomatoes indicating an 81% approval rating from 103 reviews. Critics praised the film's humour, the beauty of the  ceremony, and the quality of the acting, but took issue with its predictability and overt sentimentality. Reviewers highlighted a variety of themes, but focused mainly on the humanity which death brings to the surface and how it strengthens family bonds. The success of Departures led to the establishment of tourist attractions at sites connected to the film and increased interest in encoffining ceremonies, as well as adaptation of the story for various media, including manga and a stage play.

Handle

Title

Overview

Director

Story

Screenplay

Writer

Based on

Cinematography

Editing

Starring

Music

Runtime

Country

Language

Genre

Producer

Studio

Distributor

Released

Budget

Gross

Hashname

Description

Weight

Review# tag	Departures-2008Film
Review# tag
Hash title	Departures (2008 film)
Hash title
Description	is a 2008 Japanese drama film directed by Yōjirō Takita and starring Masahiro Motoki, Ryōko Hirosue, and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Loosely based on Coffinman, a memoir by Shinmon Aoki, the film follows a young man who returns to his hometown after a failed career as a cellist and stumbles across work as a {{transl\|ja\|nōkanshi}}—a traditional Japanese ritual mortician. He is subjected to prejudice from those around him, including from his wife, because of strong social taboos against people who deal with death. Eventually he earns their respect and learns the importance of interpersonal connections through the beauty and dignity of his work.The idea for Departures arose after Motoki, affected by having seen a funeral ceremony along the Ganges when travelling in India, read widely on the subject of death and came across Coffinman. He felt that the story would adapt well to film, and Departures was finished a decade later. Because of Japanese prejudices against those who handle the dead, distributors were reluctant to release it—until a surprise grand prize win at the Montreal World Film Festival in August 2008. The following month the film opened in Japan, where it went on to win the Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and become the year's highest-grossing domestic film. This success was topped in 2009, when it became the first Japanese production to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.Departures received mixed to positive reviews, with aggregator Rotten Tomatoes indicating an 81% approval rating from 103 reviews. Critics praised the film's humour, the beauty of the ceremony, and the quality of the acting, but took issue with its predictability and overt sentimentality. Reviewers highlighted a variety of themes, but focused mainly on the humanity which death brings to the surface and how it strengthens family bonds. The success of Departures led to the establishment of tourist attractions at sites connected to the film and increased interest in encoffining ceremonies, as well as adaptation of the story for various media, including manga and a stage play.
Description	is a 2008 Japanese drama film directed by Yōjirō Takita and starring Masahiro Motoki, Ryōko Hirosue, and Tsutomu Yamazaki. Loosely based on Coffinman, a memoir by Shinmon Aoki, the film follows a young man who returns to his hometown after a failed career as a cellist and stumbles across work as a {{transl\|ja\|nōkanshi}}—a traditional Japanese ritual mortician. He is subjected to prejudice from those around him, including from his wife, because of strong social taboos against people who deal with death. Eventually he earns their respect and learns the importance of interpersonal connections through the beauty and dignity of his work.The idea for Departures arose after Motoki, affected by having seen a funeral ceremony along the Ganges when travelling in India, read widely on the subject of death and came across Coffinman. He felt that the story would adapt well to film, and Departures was finished a decade later. Because of Japanese prejudices against those who handle the dead, distributors were reluctant to release it—until a surprise grand prize win at the Montreal World Film Festival in August 2008. The following month the film opened in Japan, where it went on to win the Academy Prize for Picture of the Year and become the year's highest-grossing domestic film. This success was topped in 2009, when it became the first Japanese production to win the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.Departures received mixed to positive reviews, with aggregator Rotten Tomatoes indicating an 81% approval rating from 103 reviews. Critics praised the film's humour, the beauty of the ceremony, and the quality of the acting, but took issue with its predictability and overt sentimentality. Reviewers highlighted a variety of themes, but focused mainly on the humanity which death brings to the surface and how it strengthens family bonds. The success of Departures led to the establishment of tourist attractions at sites connected to the film and increased interest in encoffining ceremonies, as well as adaptation of the story for various media, including manga and a stage play.

Director	Yōjirō Takita
Director
Story
Story
Screenplay
Screenplay
Writer	Kundō Koyama
Writer
Based on
Based on
Cinematography	Takeshi Hamada
Cinematography
Editing	Akimasa Kawashima
Editing

Starring	{{plain list\|Masahiro MotokiRyōko HirosueTsutomu Yamazaki}}
Starring
Music	Joe Hisaishi
Music
Runtime	130 minutes
Runtime
Country	Japan
Country
Language	Japanese
Language
Genre
Genre

Producer	Toshiaki Nakazawa
Producer
Studio	Sedic International
Studio
Distributor	Shochiku
Distributor
Released	df=y/2008/08/23/MWFF/2008/09/13/Japan
Released
Budget
Budget
Gross	$70 million{{sfn\|Box Office Mojo staff}}
Gross