Okuribito (2008)

Director:

Yôjirô Takita

Writer:

Kundo Koyama (writer)

Release Date:

13 September 2008 (Japan)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

The gift of last memories

Plot:

A newly unemployed cellist takes a job preparing the dead for funerals.

Plot Keywords:

Funeral | Cellist | Death | Orchestra | Hometown

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 31 wins & 3 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Masahiro Motoki	...	Daigo Kobayashi
Tsutomu Yamazaki	...	Ikuei Sasaki
Ryoko Hirosue	...	Mika Kobayashi
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	...	Tsuyako Yamashita
Kimiko Yo	...	Yuriko Kamimura
Takashi Sasano	...	Shokichi Hirata
Tetta Sugimoto	...	Yamashita
Tôru Minegishi	...	Yoshiki Kobayashi
Tatsuo Yamada	...	Togashi
Yukari Tachibana
Tarô Ishida	...	Sonezaki
Sanae Miyata	...	Naomi Togashi
Ryôsuke Ohtani	...	Tomeo's father
Mitsuyo Hoshino	...	Kazuko Kobayashi
Tatsuhito Okuda

Also Known As:

Departures (International: English title) (UK) (USA)
A Partida (Brazil) [pt]
Anahoriseis (Greece) [el]
Departures (France) [fr]
Departures (Denmark) [da]
Final de partida (Argentina) [es]
Nokan - Die Kunst des Ausklangs (Germany) [de]
Pozegnania (Poland) [pl]
Son veda (Turkey: Turkish title) [tr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for thematic material.

Runtime:

130 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Singapore:PG | Netherlands:AL | New Zealand:M | USA:PG-13 (certificate #45351) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (British Columbia) | Taiwan:PG-12 | UK:12A | Australia:M | Germany:o.Al. (f) | Denmark:A

Filming Locations:

Sakata, Yamagata, Japan

Company:

Amuse Soft Entertainment

Trivia:

The Japanese title "Okuribito" means "the sending [away/off] people" (as in: people who send) - but this word is not normally used in Japanese.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Jeopardy!: (#26.35)" (2009)

Marvellous!!! One of the best movies I've ever seen!!!

Probably the best movie I've ever seen. I have seen it at the 32nd Montreal World Film Festival and I hope it'll be well awarded! Even though the plot line is the "death", it's done with such kindness, softness and emotion (every little thing in the Japanese culture is made like a piece of art) and being able to make us feel so much emotions concerning the subject was really enjoyable. It's really a must see, the music is so captivating in every moment of grief. I had to hold my tears 5 times at least. I was also glad to see Tsutomu Yamazaki, I hadn't saw him since Tampopo... that was years ago (there are not a lot of Japanese movies to see in french theaters.)