Lesson 10 - Departures

Death.

The last season in life on this side of earth.

The only experience that one would never be able to share with anyone else, for obvious reasons.

Departures (2008) is a Japanese film that tells the story of Daigo Kobayashi, a good-looking young man who was a cellist in a Tokyo based orchestra. To his dismay, the orchestra is suddenly disbanded, leaving Daigo feeling lost and jobless. He moves back to his hometown with his wife Mika where they start anew. His efforts to find a job paid off when he found an advertisement for "Departures" in the newspaper. Thinking the offer was too good to be true, he went to what he thought was a travel company for an interview. To his dismay, he found out that it was a casketing company, and the advertisement was supposed to read " The Departed". The movie then shares with us Daigo's journey back in his home town, which teaches him a lot about family, hope and life.

We all come from diverse cultures, and have our own rituals and procedures to mourn our loss. "Departures" shows us how death is portrayed in Japan and how different individuals respond to it.  The Japanese have an eye for detail, a need for perfection and a strive for beauty. Japanese in general show that they are a bit particular in everything they do. Everything they do is precise and not messy. Many a time in the show, the family of the deceased would provide a picture to Sasaki and Daigo who were preparing the bodies, and expect the corpse to look exactly like the person in the picture. This, Sasaki and eventually Daigo handled with much gentleness and skill. The act of preparing the body was always done with perfection especially in terms of appearance. 

Above: Daigo being shown how to prepare a body 

by his new boss, Sasaki

What was interesting is the writer's choice to use a change in career to demonstrate his point; from a musician, Daigo became a casketing agent. The irony lies in the differences of these two jobs; a musician being one of status and class, a casketing agent associated with having to humbly take orders from family members of the dead and only associated with death. However, the similarities lie in that both require precise attention to detail, style and beauty. Both roles are artistic in nature; making something beautiful. 

Above: Daigo was sent for cello lessons as a child.

What struck me a lot was the way Diago's wife was so submissive to him throughout the show and gave in to her husband so many times, despite him not telling her about certain things. The way she loved him and cared for him and just followed his decisions is something that is rarely seen nowadays. It was good, however, that the directors allowed a point where she did not wish to give in to her husband. It showed that she did have an opinion and was not just submitting blindly.

Above: Daigo and his lovely submissive wife, Mika

who finally puts her foot down when she hears about the 

job he was doing. 

Throughout the show we also see a progression - the people who are dying are closer and closer in relation to the protagonist, Daigo. When he mourns for those close to him, and subsequently becomes the one who prepares his father's body, we see that the process of preparation of the body and the casketing serves some psychological needs in response to the death. Also, the concept of death was often followed by a portrayal of life, which serves as reminders to us about mortality, and the appreciation of life, something we often overlook.


All in all, the show gets a thumbs up in my books. Definitely a show worth watching as it will challenge your views of death and life, maybe lead to a night full of introspection!


For more info: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1069238/
Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBp4Mi53Tmc