Departures

[Beate]

From imdb:
Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

Departures was the winner of Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscar's, and I'd say deservedly. It's a beautiful film with beautiful music, stunning landscapes and strong performances from the cast. It's funny and it's sad in equal measures, and for once the Prince Charles Cinema started almost on time, in a nearly full cinema!

8/10

[ejwrank]

We also saw this at Prince Charles -- pretty punctual start and no hassle in getting in. My daughter and I both liked the film enormously. The acting was first class, with many comic moments and many poignant ones. Although it's two hours long (and that seems rare for a film nowadays) we really enjoyed it. Our only minor criticism and it is a slight one, were the scenes when he was playing the cello outside with the mountains soaring in the background. That felt a bit like a schmaltzy music video but it's a small complaint as the rest of the film was superb.

Nice to see Marialionza and Beate and OH there.

[Beate]

when he was playing the cello outside with the mountains soaring in the background. That felt a bit like a schmaltzy music video.

That is so funny, I thought exactly the same! Thanks again for the tickets and for keeping us seats, we were glad we went!

[superhero]

Thats nice feedback! I will try and catch it when it comes out on dvd. Did they give out posters of the film in the cinema?

[ejwrank]

Nope, no posters or freebies given out but it was well organised so absolutely no complaints.

[Beate]

I think they will give out posters at the Renoir on the 4th.