is a Japanese

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

written by

Kundō Koyama (born 1964) is a Japanese writer. He is best known for scripting the television series ''Iron Chef'' and the 2009 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film recipient '' Departures''. Koyama has also worked under the pen name Udon Kumayakko, a ...

and directed by

Yōjirō Takita Yōjirō Takita (滝田洋二郎 ''Takita Yōjirō'', born December 4, 1955) is a Japanese filmmaker. Takita received an Academy Awards, Oscar for Academy Award for Best International Feature Film, Best Foreign Language Film for his 2008 drama '' ...

that was released in 2008. Based on the book ''Coffinman'' by Aoki Shinmon, it follows a young man, Daigo Kobayashi (

Masahiro Motoki Masahiro Motoki (本木雅弘 ''Motoki Masahiro'', born December 21, 1965) is a Japanese actor. He portrayed protagonist Daigo Kobayashi in '' Departures'', which won the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. His performance earned ...

), who loses his job as a cellist and moves back to his hometown. Despite objections from his wife Mika (

Ryōko Hirosue is a Japanese actress and singer, best known to international audiences for her roles in the Luc Besson-produced ''Wasabi'' and the Academy Award-winning Japanese film '' Departures''. She also starred in the 2008 comedy series ''Yasuko to Kenji ...

), he finds fulfilment in performing traditional encoffinment ceremonies with his boss, Sasaki (

Tsutomu Yamazaki is a Japanese actor. He won the Blue Ribbon Award for Best Actor in 1984 for '' The Funeral'' and '' Farewell to the Ark''. Yamazaki is well known for his role "Nenbutsu no Tetsu" on the television jidaigeki '' Hissatsu Shiokinin'' and ''Shin Hi ...

), and his coworker, Kamimura (

Kimiko Yo is a Japanese actress. She was given Best Supporting Actress awards at the 2004 and the 2009 Yokohama Film Festival ceremonies. She won the award for best supporting actress at the 32nd and at the 33rd Japan Academy Prize (film), Japan Academy ...

). The film was premiered by

Shochiku () is a Japanese film and kabuki production and distribution company. It also produces and distributes anime films, in particular those produced by Bandai Namco Filmworks (which has a long-time partnership—the company released most, if not all ...

in Japan on 13 September, with a North American release on 29 May 2009 and a British one on 4 December. Owing to traditional Japanese taboos about death, Takita did not expect the film to be a success. However, ''Departures'' was the highest-grossing domestic film of 2008 in Japan, earning ¥3.05 billion in box office revenue, and a total of $69,932,387 worldwide. The film was also well received by critics, with an approval rating of 81% on the review aggregator

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

; reviewer

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

described it as "excellent at achieving the universal ends of narrative". International awards for ''Departures'' began to accrue before its domestic release, when the film was granted the Grand Prix des Ameriques at the

Montreal World Film Festival The Montreal World Film Festival (WFF; french: le Festival des Films du Monde) was one of Canada's oldest international film festivals and the only competitive film festival in North America accredited by the FIAPF (although the Toronto Internat ...

. Over the next several months it received multiple awards, including four from ''

Kinema Junpo , commonly called , is Japan's oldest film magazine and began publication in July 1919. It was first published three times a month, using the Japanese ''Jun'' (旬) system of dividing months into three parts, but the postwar ''Kinema Junpō'' ha ...

'', and in September 2008 it was selected as Japan's submission for the

Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film The Academy Award for Best International Feature Film (known as Best Foreign Language Film prior to 2020) is one of the Academy Awards handed out annually by the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to a ...

. In February 2009, ''Departures'' dominated the Japan Academy Prizes, receiving thirteen nominations and winning ten. During the

81st Academy Awards The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 ...

held later that week, ''Departures'' became the first Japanese submission to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, over the critical favourite ''

Waltz with Bashir ''Waltz with Bashir'' ( he, ואלס עם באשיר, translit. ''Vals Im Bashir'') is a 2008 Israeli adult animated war documentary drama film written, produced, and directed by Ari Folman. It depicts Folman's search for lost memories of ...

'' (

Ari Folman Ari Folman ( he, ארי פולמן) (born December 17, 1962) is an Israeli film director, screenwriter, animator, and film-score composer. He directed the Oscar-nominated animated documentary film ''Waltz with Bashir'' (2008) and the live-a ...

). Into 2010 ''Departures'' picked up several further awards, including Best Asian Film at the

Hong Kong Film Award The Hong Kong Film Awards (HKFA; ), founded in 1982, is an annual film awards ceremony in Hong Kong. The ceremonies are typically in April. The awards recognise achievement in various aspects of filmmaking, such as directing, screenwriting, act ...

s. This international success led to the development of a tourism industry based around the film, with some sites receiving thousands of visitors, and stimulated both a theatrical re-release and a reprint of ''Coffinman''. A hearse based on Kobayashi and Sasaki's vehicle in the film was likewise put into production.

Accolades

Explanatory notes

References

External links