Departures
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Yojiro Takita
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Kimiko Yo
Ryoko Hirosue
Masahiro Motoki
Takashi Sasano
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Daigo is a cellist who becomes jobless when his symphony orchestra in Tokyo disbands. Giving up his dream of being a performer, Daigo moves back to his close-knit home town with wife Mika to reevaluate his life while staying in his late mother's home. After answering a help wanted ad with hopes of an exciting job in tourism, he instead finds himself offered a position at a company specializing in "encoffinments," the ancient Japanese art of preparing a corpse for cremation in front of the bereaved. Sasaki, the surly sage of an owner, convinces Daigo to take the job after dangling a large salary in front of him. In spite of the strange prospect of bathing, dressing and grooming the dead, along with fearing the reactions of his wife and the outside world, Daigo discovers a renewed joy for living through learning to care for the grieving and the deceased and unwittingly begins a journey of reconciliation with his past. The comically caustic Sasaki serves as Daigo's anchor and stalwart advisor, passing the knowledge of a time-honored tradition to a new generation along with respect for the unifying finality of departure.
Director
Yojiro Takita
Cast
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Kimiko Yo
Ryoko Hirosue
Masahiro Motoki
Takashi Sasano
Kazuko Yoshiyuki
Tetta Sugimoto
Toru Minegishi
Tatsuo Yamada
Yukiko Tachibana
Crew
Takeshi Hamada
Joe Hisaishi
Akimasa Kawashima
Katsuhiko Kitamura
Naomi Koike
Kundou Koyama
Yasuhiro Mase
Hidetaka Nagahama
Toshiaki Nakazawa
Fumio Ogawa
Tomio Ogawa
Osamu Onodera
Satoshi Ozaki
Hitoshi Takaya
Isao Tsuge
Toshihisa Watai
Shuji Yamashita
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Miscellaneous Notes
Winner of the Mercedes-Benz Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature at the 2009 Palm Springs International Film Festival.
Winner of the Grand Prix des Americas at the 2008 Montreal World Film Festival.
Limited Release in United States May 29, 2009
Released in United States Summer May 29, 2009
Released in United States on Video January 12, 2010
Released in United States 2008
Released in United States October 2008
Released in United States 2009
Released in United States January 2009
Shown at Montreal World Film Festival (World Competition) August 21-September 1, 2008.
Shown at Pusan International Film Festival (Window on Asian Cinema) October 2-10, 2008.
Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival (World Cinema) April 23-May 7, 2009.
Shown at Seattle International Film Festival (Contemporary World Cinema) May 21-June 14, 2009.
Shown at Tribeca Film Festival (Spotlight) April 22-May 3, 2009.
Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (Best of the Fest) January 6-19, 2009.
Limited Release in United States May 29, 2009
Released in United States Summer May 29, 2009
Released in United States on Video January 12, 2010
Released in United States 2008 (Shown at Montreal World Film Festival (World Competition) August 21-September 1, 2008.)
Released in United States October 2008 (Shown at Pusan International Film Festival (Window on Asian Cinema) October 2-10, 2008.)
Released in United States 2009 (Shown at San Francisco International Film Festival (World Cinema) April 23-May 7, 2009.)
Released in United States 2009 (Shown at Seattle International Film Festival (Contemporary World Cinema) May 21-June 14, 2009.)
Released in United States 2009 (Shown at Tribeca Film Festival (Spotlight) April 22-May 3, 2009.)
Released in United States January 2009 (Shown at Palm Springs International Film Festival (Best of the Fest) January 6-19, 2009.)
