DEPARTURES

SOMERVILLE EXCLUSIVE

Director: Yojiro Takita • 130min • M
In Japanese with subtitles

The Oscar-winning Departures is a gentle, sometimes whimsical movie about a quiet man in conflict with the world, his father and himself. Here the Japanese reveal a deep and warmhearted acceptance of death and its rituals, which they believe are for the living, not for the dead.

Daigo is a young cellist who retreats to his hometown in northern Japan with his wife following his orchestra's closure. He applies for a job 'working with departures' and to his surprise it's not a travel agency but employment in 'encoffinment'. Daigo must learn the skills involved in the delicate ritual of washing, dressing and grooming a body, and the art of repairing whatever damage life may have done – a rite performed in front of the family, and with the beauty and precision of a tea ceremony.

OSCAR, BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM, ACADEMY AWARDS 2009

BEST FILM, DIRECTOR, ACTOR, SUPPORTING ACTOR AND ACTRESS, SCREENPLAY, CINEMATOGRAPHY, GRAND PRIX DES AMERIQUES, MONTREAL WORLD FILM FESTIVAL 2008

AUDIENCE AWARDS, HAWAII, PALM SPRINGS, WISCONSIN AND UDINE FAR EAST FILM FESTIVALS 2009