Departures

When everyone thought that "Departures" was selected among the five finalists to win the Oscar for best foreign language film, just to meet the quota of Asian cinema, when we all were debating between 'class' and' Waltz with Bashir ', appeared Yojiro Takita's film and broke the bank. Neither the frustrating problems of French education system, not rote gaps of the Israelite nation. The Academy ended up preferring this curious mixture between life and death, between the comic and the tragic.

Although more than mixing genres, making Takita is subtly shaking with drama and comedy which are transformed into two immiscible liquids that form two almost independent. Both work really well apart (especially the first, when comes out delicious and some hooligan humor of the tape), and perhaps because of the passage from one stage to the other seems like a rather awkward period of acclimatization. Fortunately it is short, so that the film does not charge too much this transition.

What I would regret is exacerbated lyricism in some sections Nippon-tic-usual and obvious abuse of metaphors in most of the tape and something less common in Asian cinema. Among the cellist playing in hills impregnated by cherry blossoms (a scene very well shot, though) and stones, rather than representing a lost childhood, represent the obvious, unfortunately lost much of the genius displayed in sequence as suggestive as the renegade father's face blurred. The forgetfulness, denial, nostalgia, repulsion ... up together in a single image. Overwhelming lesson of synthesis, and film.

The tradition against the modern, the rural versus urban, the sensei for the student, the eternal conflict of generations, life against death. A dualism that marks the beat of this unusual journey of initiation, which is-excuse-tribute wonderful, loving vision or an endangered profession. Prepare the dead body for your trip to another world is something hypnotic (and there are the end credit titles to prove it). The concept of respect has a new meaning to see the young Daigo carefully dress the deceased. One way to make life a priori somewhat controversial, but undeniably honest and beautiful.

With a successful interpretations (especially Masahiro Motoki and Tsutomu Yamazaki), with a soundtrack and especially notable with expert guidance and sufficient marketability, "Departures" had it all to get, as it did, the coveted Oscar statuette to the best Foreign Film.

7/10