(2 hrs 10 mins)
Soon after buying an expensive cello, Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki) learns that his orchestra is disbanding. Daigo and his wife move back to his hometown in northern Japan, where he answers an ad for what he thinks is a travel agency but is, in actuality, a mortuary. As he learns and carries out the rituals used in preparing the dead for their final rest, Daigo finds his true calling in life.
Reviews:
A wonderful film with incredibly good and beautiful feelings that make your heart move, so beautiful and extremely well acted. Great cinema. ~Rotten Tomatoes
Departures turns out to be a delightful surprise, at once an engaging dramedy and an eloquent social statement about … well, I’m getting ahead of myself. ~NPR
An exquisite cinematic masterpiece that touches the heart with its treatment of beauty, music, death, and abandonment. ~ Spirituality & Practice
Barre Zen Meditation Center Kokyoji, (Eternal Mirror Temple) 