Charming funny little Japanese movie

Rating: 7/10 (25 March 2014)

Daigo Kobayashi loses his symphony cellist job when the orchestra shuts down. He's deeply in debt spending 18 million yens on his cello. He decides to sell off his cello, and move on with his life. His mother left a home to him, and he goes back to his hometown with his wife Mika. He answers an ad entitled 'Departures' thinking it's a travel agency only to discover that it's supposed to be 'Departed'. It's a funeral home, and he tries to hide it from his wife.
It's a charming funny little Japanese movie. It won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film of the Year. The Japanese funeral ceremony is very fascinating, and it's a great look at a different culture. These are nice lovely characters. I find them very human. The comedy is very light. The drama is very touching. It is a little slow at over 2 hours, but the slow pace does fit the subject matter. It's very reminiscent of 'Six Feet Under' without some of the edgier and darker family drama. The social disdain for the work is very eye opening.