Departures (2008)

Finding life in death.

I ironically found Director Yôjirô Takita's highly rated 'When the Last Sword is Drawn' to be average. So, to my misfortune, I was many years late to see his better 'Departures'.

A failed cellist moves back to his small hometown where he reluctantly gets a job with a niche funeral business that publicly prepares the bodies of the dead for their departure.

Someone isn't a body, but the body is the image that represents them. Thus, I'd rather remember them healthy than as a face that's been run over by a truck tyre.

Considering that most people don't know how to let-go, the caring preparation of a corpse is practical when it’s part of an intimate and lengthy goodbye.

Though ‘Departures’ would have been stronger without occasional overacting, it's a decent movie that went on to win many awards.