68	METASCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 27 Critic Reviews

8.0	USER SCORE Generally favorable reviews based on 64 Ratings

Departures

Regent Releasing | Release Date: May 29, 2009

Summary: Departures follows Daigo Kobayashi, a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled “Departures” thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of “Nokanshi,” acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living. (Regent Releasing)

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Details

Runtime:	130 min
Rating:	Rated PG-13 for thematic material.
Production:	Amuse Soft Entertainment
Genres:	Drama, Comedy, Music
Country:	Japan
Language:	Japanese
Home Release Date:	Jan 12, 2010

Director	Credit
Yôjirô Takita	Director

Writer	Credit
Kundo Koyama	Writer

Principal Cast	Credit
Masahiro Motoki	Daigo Kobayashi
Ryoko Hirosue	Mika Kobayashi
Tsutomu Yamazaki	Ikuei Sasaki

Cast	Credit
Kazuko Yoshiyuki	Tsuyako Yamashita
Kimiko Yo	Yuriko Kamimura
Mitsuyo Hoshino	Kazuko Kobayashi
Ryôsuke Ôtani	Tomeo's Father
Sanae Miyata	Naomi Togashi
Takashi Sasano	Shokichi Hirata
Tarô Ishida	Sonezaki
Tatsuhito Okuda	Cast
Tatsuo Yamada	Togashi
Tetta Sugimoto	Yamashita
Tôru Minegishi	Yoshiki Kobayashi
Yukari Tachibana	Cast

Producer	Credit
Ichirô Nobukuni	Producer
Toshiaki Nakazawa	Producer
Toshihisa Watai	Producer
Yasuhiro Mase	Executive Producer