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.
Acting
Motoki's silent corpse-preparation scenes are masterclasses in physical acting.
Score
The cello motif will wreck you every single time.
Production
Meticulous encoffining rituals shot with reverent, hypnotic detail.
Director
Yojiro Takita
Masahiro Motoki
Daigo Kobayashi
Hirosue Ryoko
Mika Kobayashi
Tsutomu Yamazaki
Ikuei Sasaki
Kimiko Yo
Yuriko Kamimura
Tetta Sugimoto
Yamashita
Toru Minegishi
Yoshiki Kobayashi
Tatsuo Yamada
Togashi
Yukiko Tachibana
Yukari Tachibana
Rie Yamashita
Taro Ishida
Sonezaki
Yukimi Koyanagi
Hiroyuki Kishi
Sanae Miyata
Naomi Togashi
Ryosuke Otani
Tomeo's Father
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The film sparked Japan's first serious mainstream conversation about deathcare careers, which were historically burakumin-associated and heavily stigmatized.
Motoki trained for months with professional encoffiners; those hands-on corpse scenes are real techniques, no stunt doubles. The Academy somehow gave this Best Foreign Film over Waltz with Bashir.
JP
