Even though it was up against a couple of Middle Eastern sob stories, Japan's "Departures" was the surprise win of this year's Oscar for Best Foreign Film.
Now that it has been finally released in America and I have seen it, this is no surprise to me.
"Departures" does what every good foreign film should do. It takes you to another land and introduces you to another culture and, hopefully, does so in an entertaining way. Bingo and bonzai! I was tranasported to the Japanese countryside and learned about some fascinating customs. In doing funerals. Six Feet Under Goes to Japan.
"Departures" is the story of a young cello player whose orchestra gig melts into a bad economy. No dollars, no yen. All the same. Out of work and with a new wife, Daigo Kobayashi (also available with noodles) answers an ad for a job as an assistant "handling departures." He thinks it's with a travel agency. Nope, a different kind of departure. A permanent one. Prepping some dead person for the eternal journey. This is a challenge for Daigo, who never even saw his late mother as a corpse. And his dad disappeared ages ago, a plot factoid that you'd have to be deaf, dumb, and a registered Democrat to think it won't come up again by the end of the film.
The whole undertaking process in Japan is called "encoffining" and it's done in the house. In full view of the family that watches as you wash the body, dress it, and gently put it in the casket. Thank God I don't live in Japan. But, I was still amazed to watch the ritual which is quite precise and moving. At first, Daigo watches as his mentor does the tough stuff. But, eventually, Daigo learns the trade and encoffins as well and as beautifully as he plays the cello.
While they take great care to perserve the dignity of the deceased, there are really funny moments along the way. As they are washing one dead girl who committed suicide, they discover that she was indeed a he. One other encoffinment winds up with the family arguing over the makeup used on Mom and that erupts into a hilarious fist fight.
What I also did not know is that the profession of undertaking is generally looked down upon in Japan. You are viewed as being weird and one level above garbageman or the guy down on the dock chopping up freshly caught eel. Even Daigo's own wife has an issue and leaves him for a while after she discovers just what his hands were doing when he was at work.
About fifteen minutes before the end, the plot gets as squishy as last night's octopus. As I mentioned, the notion of "Dad re-emerging" was, unlike Pearl Harbor, no big secret. But, still, the story ties up exquisitely and your two hours have been well spent.
As long as I can attend these encoffinments on film and never in person. Yuk!
Dinner last night: Salisbury steak at the Cheesecake Factory.
1 comment:
I didn't even want to see my mother's corpse but my brother wanted an open casket. Enough for me.
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