Old Friends, New Friends - Departures

Tonight I watched this sad,

 beautiful,

and

very moving film.

It is a film about the difficult subject of

death and dying

and the manner in which one

is sent on to the next world.

As is so often the case with the Japanese,

the manner in which they wrap

things is stunning

 as is the ritual

that goes along with it.

And here

I enjoyed watching the

calm,

gentle,

and affectionate way

that Daigo

prepared

those that had passed away

for their

final journey.

This is a Five Star film

that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars.

The soundtrack by Joe Hisaishi, who wrote the music 
for the 'Beat' Takeshi Kitano films Kikujiro (1999), and Hana-bi (1997), is also noteworthy.

Here's the Netflix description:

"Freshly unemployed, young cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) has an epiphany in which he realizes he's been heading down the wrong career path. Retreating to his hometown, he trains for a new professional role as a nakanshi, or one who prepares the dead for burial. Tsutomu Yamazaki provides comic relief as Daigo's eccentric mentor in director Yojiro Takita's Oscar-winning, richly detailed -- if unlikely -- drama about finding your bliss." 


Here's a clip from the film. 

Do yourself a favor

and go out and get yourself a copy,

you won't regret it.