DEPARTURES (2009)

Cast

Plot

A financially struggling cellist returns to the rural community of his birth and finds a job as a nokanshi, someone who prepares dead bodies prior to burial and reincarnation, a somewhat despised job in Japanese culture. However Daigo learns to take a professional pride in his job, comforting the bereaved and promoting respect for the dead, and, through his task, helps himself and others reconcile themselves with how to live a more meaningful life. This much loved tale won a 2009 Oscar for best foreign film.