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Departures follows Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled Departures thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of Nokanshi, acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.
Original Release
09/13/2008
US Release
05/29/2009
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Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Masahiro Motoki | Daigo Kobayashi |
Tsutomu Yamazaki | Ikuei Sasaki |
Ryoko Hirosue | Mika Kobayashi |
Kazuko Yoshiyuki | Tsuyako Yamashita |
Kimiko Yo | Yuriko Uemura / Yuriko Kamimura |
Takashi Sasano | Shokichi Hirata |
Tetta Sugimoto | Yamashita |
Tôru Minegishi | Yoshiki Kobayashi |
Tatsuo Yamada | Togashi |
Yukari Tachibana |
Directors
Writers
Cast
Name | Character |
---|
Masahiro Motoki | Daigo Kobayashi |
Tsutomu Yamazaki | Ikuei Sasaki |
Ryoko Hirosue | Mika Kobayashi |
Kazuko Yoshiyuki | Tsuyako Yamashita |
Kimiko Yo | Yuriko Uemura / Yuriko Kamimura |
Takashi Sasano | Shokichi Hirata |
Tetta Sugimoto | Yamashita |
Tôru Minegishi | Yoshiki Kobayashi |
Tatsuo Yamada | Togashi |
Yukari Tachibana | |
Tarô Ishida | Sonezaki |
Sanae Miyata | Naomi Togashi |
Ryosuke Otani | Tomeo's father |
Mitsuyo Hoshino | Kazuko Kobayashi |
Tatsuhito Okuda | |
Akemi Fuji | |
Miyako Hattori | Grandmother |
Mari Hayashida | |
Shinji Hiwatashi | |
Norichika Iimori |
Producers
Name | Role |
---|
Yasuhiro Mase | Executive Producer |
Toshiaki Nakazawa | Producer |
Ichirô Nobukuni | Producer |
Toshihisa Watai | Producer |
Hideharu Yamashita | Producer |
Editors
Clips
Year | Type | Category | Won |
---|
2009 | Oscar | Best Foreign Language Film of the Year | Won |