A deeply moving, quietly humane drama that turns a taboo profession into a meditation on dignity, grief, and the rituals that help the living let go. It is sentimental, but with enough grace, craft, and emotional honesty to make the feeling earned.
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.
Director
Yojiro Takita
Production
TBS, Amuse Soft Entertainment, MBS, Sedic, Shogakukan, TBS Radio
A deeply moving, quietly humane drama that turns a taboo profession into a meditation on dignity, grief, and the rituals that help the living let go. It is sentimental, but with enough grace, craft, and emotional honesty to make the feeling earned.
Best for
viewers who like emotional but restrained dramas
fans of Japanese cinema and cultural storytelling
people interested in grief, ritual, and end-of-life themes
audiences who appreciate gentle, character-driven films
Skip if
you want fast pacing or high conflict
you dislike overt sentimentality
you prefer bleak realism without emotional uplift
you are uncomfortable with death-related subject matter
Overview
Departures finds unexpected warmth in a subject most films approach with dread. By following a laid-off cellist who stumbles into work preparing the dead, it builds a story about shame, purpose, and the quiet dignity of care. The film’s greatest strength is how seriously it treats ritual: every gesture feels deliberate, tender, and human.
Worth noting
It is openly emotional, and sometimes leans hard into that feeling, but the performances and visual calm keep it from tipping into manipulation. The contrast between social embarrassment and sacred labor gives the film real resonance, especially as Daigo slowly comes to understand what his work means to the families he serves.
Bottom line
This is a film for viewers who want to be moved, but not cheaply. It is elegant, compassionate, and rooted in a strong sense of place and tradition. If you are open to a drama about death that is ultimately about life, it leaves a lasting impression.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ayush (4★) · 268 likes
Bidding the final farewell. With grace and respect, the lifeless body is cleaned before their mourning family. They have lost a dear one, but the face they see for the last time will not be dull and cold. Rather, it would look full of life even as the heart beats no more, the eyes are shut forever, and the expression remains unchanged. Departures is unabashedly sentimental. Hisaishi's score sweeps us off our feet in a hurry, and we're admittedly emotionally… more
allain♡ · 149 likes
Beneath Death’s somber veil lies tenderness the world seldom speaks of. The strong scent of formaldehyde. Hair gently combed. Thickly applied makeup. Garments ironed with reverence. Each are but serene gestures of love for a life that once bloomed, breathed, lived, walked amongst us. To care for the dead is a sacred calling; taboo to most, offers glory to none, yet still a labor that eventually touches every single soul in time. And though the Grim Reaper may arrive without
Two Cineasts (5★) · 126 likes
Film reviews in 22 sentences (or less)Today: Departures „The most personal journey is the last one, made by others. A moving film that is a prime example why I love Japan: westernization and traditions hand in hand, taking part in globalization but never losing their history.“(The Two Cineasts) Hi everybody, it's been a long time since a movie triggered such opposing and strong emotional outbursts in me in the matter of seconds, as I couldn't keep my eyes… more
theyo theyo (5★) · 116 likes
this movie stabbed me in the heart and gave me a warm hug
Eye Ball (5★) · 114 likes
A truly great piece of film making. Departures is a beautifully acted Japanese movie, which managed to utterly immerse me into the fascinating life of Daigo Kobayashi, a successful cellist, who suddenly finds that his orchestra is to be disbanded. This life has been a safety net and the regular income vanishes leaving Daigo with no money to pay for the brand new cello he has just bought and is facing big debts. Daigo has to go home and explain… more