Departures
Regent Releasing | Release Date: May 29, 2009 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews
Positive:
20
Mixed:
7
Negative:
0
Watch Now
Buy on
Stream On

Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
100
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The movie is uncommonly absorbing. Read full review
100
EmpirePhil de Semlyen
Heart-warming, funny, wise and profound. Not to be missed. Read full review
90
Wall Street JournalJoe Morgenstern
Beautiful moments abound. In Departures, the contemplation of death prepares the way for an appreciation of life. Read full review
90
Los Angeles TimesBetsy Sharkey
The film manages to be anything but dark; whimsy and sweet irony are laced throughout, a warmhearted blend that turned it into the surprise winner of 2008's Oscar for foreign-language film. Read full review
90
Film ThreatRick Kisonak
On its own terms, Departures is a thing of rare and remarkable beauty. Read full review
88
USA TodayClaudia Puig
Though events unravel predictably, the film is profoundly affecting, thanks to a well-written story, rich characters and superlative acting. Read full review
88
New Orleans Times-PicayuneMike Scott
A surprisingly uplifting examination of life and loss. Read full review
80
The Hollywood ReporterMaggie Lee
Yojiro Takita, who directed enduring commercial hits like "The Ying Yang Master" and "The Yen Family," has made a popular gem -- thematically respectable, technically hard to fault, artfully scripted to entertain and touch. Read full review
80
Village VoiceElla Taylor
Departures is built for simplicity, and, if nothing else, the appeal to decency and integrity of this sweetly old-fashioned tale make it a must for Bernie Madoff's prison Netflix queue. Read full review
80
NPRBob Mondello
It will absolutely delight the art-house crowd. Multiplexes will be crowded with noisy summer films, after all, from which Departures will represent a sophisticated and elegant departure. Read full review
78
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Gentle and comedically nuanced exercise in mourning. Read full review
75
San Francisco ChronicleWalter Addiego
The film is far from perfect but has enough going on to compensate for its excessive length and some sentimentality. Read full review
75
Philadelphia InquirerCarrie Rickey
Yojiro Takita's movie simultaneously tickles tears of mourning as it wrings laughs about the meaning of life. Read full review
75
Baltimore SunMichael Sragow
The fascination, humor and poignancy of Departures, this year's winner of the Academy Award for Best Foreign Film, rests in the Japanese ceremony of preparing bodies for their caskets. Read full review
75
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe Williams
Sometimes macabre and sometimes manipulative, but the way it speaks to the spirit is miraculous. Read full review
70
VarietyEddie Cockrell
TV scribe Kundo Koyama's first bigscreen script peppers the proceedings with rich character detail and near-screwball interludes that shouldn't fit but somehow do. Read full review
70
Chicago ReaderAndrea Gronvall
Director Yojiro Takita uses the changing seasons to echo the characters' moods; the score by Joe Hisaishi (Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle) has a suitably majestic sweep. Read full review
70
Washington PostPhilip Kennicott
It is as polished as it is heavy-handed, and it leaves one under a spell. Read full review
67
Entertainment WeeklyOwen Gleiberman
Departures is tender and, at times, rather squishy. It's sure to squeeze the tear ducts of anyone who has lost a parent. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeTy Burr
This is the kind of tastefully poignant drama that asks its audience to confront taboos and then pats them on the back for doing so. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter Rainer
Departures is sappy and wacky – not the best combination. Read full review
50
New York Magazine (Vulture)David Edelstein
It will resonate with anyone who has ever buried a loved one and struggled to reconcile the myriad emotions--grief, anger, helplessness. Which is to say, everyone. And yet out of this premise comes glop. Departures needed a little more work in the morgue--like cutting to the bone. Read full review
50
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
Overlong, predictable in its plotting and utterly banal in its blending of comic whimsy and melodramatic pathos. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael Phillips
The acting is quite deft, if extremely broad, but screenwriter Kundo Koyama seesaws uncertainly between jokes and grief. Read full review
50
New York PostV.A. Musetto
Takita could easily trim 30 minutes of flab and oceans of tears from Departures. It still wouldn't merit an Oscar, but it would be a lot more watchable. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)James Adams
Departures is, well … a nice film. It breaks no new ground, offers no audacious insights or rude revelations. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Here's a great way to start savoring life: Don't waste it on pat manipulations like this. Read full review
More From This Movie

68 Critic Reviews

8.0 User Reviews

Details & Credits|Trailers

Current Movie Releases
By MetascoreBy User Score
1 81 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
2 77 Project Hail Mary
3 75 Send Help
4 73 Hoppers
5 72 The Sheep Detectives
SEE ALL
Essential Links
New on Amazon Prime Video
New on Netflix
Coming Soon to DVD/Blu-ray
SEE ALL