Anonymouse

This is the first time I’m using my 2 blogs per day quota!  What can I say I’ve seen two good movies and thought to share them.

Departures (2008) is an Academy Award® Winner for the Best Foreign Language Film of 2009 and another very good independent movie about a young Japanese man who is a musician and plays cello for an orchestra in Tokyo.  He gets a big loan for a very good and expensive cello so he can follow his dream of playing it for an orchestra only to get the news that the orchestra is dissolved.

So he’s forced to sell his cello and move to countryside with his young bride and live in the house that his mother left him upon her death.  He ends up working for a funeral home and preparing the deceased for their “departure”.

The cinematography in this film is exquisite and you get to see the very beautiful Japanese countryside.  As Iranians we can relate to many of their traditions.  I think I’ve seen his young bride in other movies but can’t remember which ones.  I’m recommending this movie because of the Japanese tradition and ceremonies for their deceased which are somewhat different than how we do it in Iran for our loved ones.  For one thing they don’t have graves but you’ll have to see the movie to find out more.

This is a very respectful movie and it is not all about the funeral process.  Those are relatively small parts but the main focuses of the movie is about life and how we tend to see some of the day to day issues that we’re faced that often define our lives.

Departures is in Japanese with English subtitles.  You can watch it online via video streaming or get the DVD.  It is another good movie with a good story line and I think you’ll enjoy it.