Watch Departures For Free

if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

All that we are seeing on the screen is happening with real people, real action sequences in the background, forcing the eye to watch as if we were there.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

The film, "Departures," filmed and directed by Yojiro Takita, was a very well put together film, in my opinion. One of the main themes was somewhat creepy. This theme was funeral services in Japan. However, the film also focused on other things like family and the circle of life, which were both heartwarming to watch. Although the services were exotic and different as to how we celebrate and grieve for the dead in the United States, it was very interesting and gave the viewers a very cool global perspective. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys learning about different cultures, especially cultures in Asia, including Japanese culture. This movie also had some comical parts, so the film was not just depressing and interesting, but also funny at some points.

Viewed on DVD. All departments = nine (9) stars. Director Youjirou Takita leads a team of film makers who undertake a very careful, detailed, and emotionally moving depiction of the lives of undertakers (starting with initial motivations to enter the profession). The arts of the mortician as dramatized in this photo play include skillful bereavement psychology, ceremonial showmanship (there is a not-so-subtle link to live theater acting), facial makeup (again tied to acting), and "encoffinment" of bodies in caskets (with various price points). It is also shown to be a profession typically despised (death is far from a popular subject matter in Japan and elsewhere) until services are required (marked by an abrupt 180 degree flip in attitudes). Direction and acting are across-the-board exceptional and continuously address this morbid subject in an upbeat manner. Nonetheless there is a drift here and there into the maudlin due to slow-paced scenes. The overly-long production does not help matters either. Cinematography (semi-wide screen, color), lighting, and editing are excellent. Surround sound field is mostly fine. Original score (there are also some short selections from classical compositions) is also excellent with deeply resonating and haunting Leit Motifs. It is performed by a very large orchestra (which is shown in action early in the film). A highly-recommended Shochiku Company release. WILLIAM FLANIGAN, PhD.

... and i have seen an uncountable number of them! Actually it had been a long time before such a piece of Art film came on my screen. Right then, out of the sudden, i heard the announcement on our national TV stations that they were going to play "departures", a film which was the Oscar winner for best non English speaking film of that year! The fact that it was Japanese and the synopsis of its script was nothing i was really enthusiastic about, and i would have probably missed it if i didn't read the reviews which were all very strongly recommending it. So, finally i found myself, that Sunday evening watching "departures", and a miracle happened! the -at the beginning macabre- script, became gradually more and more touching, then sad and finally heartbreaking, humanistic and tender so much, that it finally got me totally upside down out of emotion. Till that moment I had never come across anything like this! How could it be possible that something which could - at first sight- be considered "macabre" end up so heartbreaking? Only a real highly humanistic masterpiece could ever make it possible. And everything in this film is just a masterpiece of its own: Direction, photograph, script, acting and last but not least, its heavenly music which just frees your soul and lose your eyes to shed freely your tears! This music...Oh! there is something magic about it i tell you! That kind of music God allows from time to time to reach the earth as a present from heaven and probably as a reward for something good the humans may have done. In my case,Mr Hisaishi,the composer, through his divine music for this divine film, made me a Cello fan, and I do need to thank him for giving me this amazing feeling! If you haven't seen "Departures" yet, please try to do it soon as possible. It will fill your heart and your spirit with the finest kindness you have ever experienced coming out of a movie screen. It may make you feel emotionally shocked but it will also make you a better person for sure!

This was totally OK?Why the hell Netflix thought I would like it 5 stars worth is beyond me.About 30 minutes it dawned on me what it reminded me of - Sunshine Cleaners and one of any 100's of quirky, gentle mid-00's indie flicks about life upheavals.This was a thoroughly competent, Japanese version of one of those flicks. I kept expecting a big Gotcha! moment, the thing that would bring this to the top of the pile but it's not there. It is a thoroughly fine movie, that's it.