from PhantomTollbooth:
Phantom Tollbooth gives this non-rated movie 4/5 stars...
"The thoughtful script by Kundo Koyama is beautifully interpreted by the actors, Masahiro Motoki and Tsutomu Yamazaki as an apprentice undertaker and his boss, who owns the business. Ryoko Hirosue is Masahiro’s wife, who strongly disapproves of his new occupation. The story is set against a small town in Japan and adapted from Shinmon Aoki’s real life story, “Coffinman.” Such a person is the one who prepares the deceased for burial while the family looks on and grieves. A sort of middleman in the business.
Departures opens with an orchestra concert and afterward, the group is told that the orchestra is being disbanded. This is bad news for Daigo (Motoki) who plays the cello. Eventually, he and his wife travel to another city for a new job he has accepted. The “willing to travel” indicated to Daigo that this was a travel agent’s job, but, instead, it is apprentice to a firm that performs encoffinments, or preparing the deceased for placing in the coffin. It requires knowledge of etiquette (no skin is allowed to show), manners, and skill in make-up. Some bodies come from hospitals and others are victims of crimes and then you have to have a strong stomach. Humor is provided by a video of Daigo as the “corpse” as the Boss does a lecture for students.
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