Departures (M)

"Departures" is a delightful and sensitive journey into the heartland of Japan and an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan`s cultural heritage. A premiere symphony orchestra in Tokyo disbands, leaving Daigo (Motoki) suddenly unemployed. With wife Mika (Hirosue) in tow, he moves back to his home town in the northeastern prefecture of Yamagata. They move into the crumbling remains of his mother’s house, which doubled as the local pub. Spotting a Help Wanted ad featuring the word “departures,” he is excited about the prospect of trying a new career in the travel industry and is stunned to learn what he has gotten himself into: the ceremonial “encoffination” of corpses prior to cremation.