The film that not many were rooting for to win the Oscar 2009 for Best Foreign Film and which it did, is a great piece of work about social stigma attached to certain professions but mostly it's due to the human emotions at play with regards to a man coming to accept the reality and forgiving the past hurt.
This is the story of a Cello player, Daigo in Tokyo who moves back with his wife to his native town as the symphony he works for goes under. He reads an advertisement for a job thinking that it's a travel agency, however when he lands he realizes the job is to assist the departed - dress-up the dead and put them in a coffin.
With no jobs on offer and being desperate Daigo decides to give a shot on insistence of the owner. He hides the true nature of his job from his wife since he knows she shall not accept such a job. Initially he has a hard time getting used to the strange rituals of this job but gradually he becomes aware on how much the last rites means to the family.
He becomes great at his work and has to deal with the hassles of the society, the biggest of all with his loving wife who leaves him. Amidst all this, the young man is always bitter and hurting about his father who left him and his mother when he was a child.
The story captures the life in the small silent town pretty well. There are stories within stories and each works to add more emotions. At times, the film seems a wee-bit extra sentimental but as you are always close to Diago, going along with his journey, with his internal struggle getting heightened, the film becomes more moving.
One of the big highlights besides the super performance by Mashiro Motoki is the stunning soundtrack. The music plays an incredible role and is also inherently connected to the character.
Writer: Kundo Koyama
Director: Yojiro Takita
Rating ****
[Max Rating ****]
[Viewed on 30th June at ChezArtiste, 3.45pm show]
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