Departures

"The gift of last memories."

2008 2h 10m JA

🙌

7.9

BANGER

★7.9TMDB · 968

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.

“The gift of last memories.”

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Cast

Masahiro Motoki
Daigo Kobayashi
Ryoko Hirosue
Mika Kobayashi
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Ikuei Sasaki
Kimiko Yo
Yuriko Kamimura
Tetta Sugimoto
Yamashita
Toru Minegishi
Yoshiki Kobayashi
Tatsuo Yamada
Togashi
Yukiko Tachibana

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Yojiro Takita
Writers: Kundo Koyama
Languages: Japanese
Countries: Japan

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Yojiro Takita, shot by Takeshi Hamada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Akimasa Kawashima shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Masahiro Motoki and Ryoko Hirosue and Tsutomu Yamazaki carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "The gift of last memories.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt1069238 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Yojiro Takita directs. Takeshi Hamada behind the camera. Joe Hisaishi scores. Akimasa Kawashima cuts. Produced in Japan. Dialogue in Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 18 years ago.
2Directed by Yojiro Takita, shot by Takeshi Hamada. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Joe Hisaishi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Akimasa Kawashima shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Masahiro Motoki and Ryoko Hirosue and Tsutomu Yamazaki carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "The gift of last memories.".
7IMDB entry: tt1069238 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 10 themes, including "dying and death", "funeral", "octopus", "coffin".
9Released under 34 different titles around the world.