[jmovie] Okuribito (aka Departures) ~ BREATHTAKING! The music? WOW!

Surely by now you have probably heard of some amazing Japanese movie that swept up this year’s Best Foreign Film of the Year at the Academy Awards. You haven’t?! NO WORRIES! That’s what I’m here for! LOL

The movie is called Okuribito おくりびと, or more commonly known as Departures in the Western markets. I just watched it this week and decided it was DEFINITELY worth a post! Breathtaking would be an appropriate word. It’s also completely fresh. At first I was a little worried that it might be a bit slow and boring at parts (I find that jmovies are sometimes a hit or miss OR you need to be fully charged prior to watching it) but it wasn’t at all!! The story is a little odd but don’t be scared by it. Give it a go. It’s DEFINITELY worth checking out!!!

Japanese official website + Japanese trailer

The English version of the trailer is available here but I think the Japanese one presents a much more accurate picture of the movie.

Story

Daigo (Motoki Masahiro) is a professional cellist in a small orchestra but just as he thought life was going well, he is told the group is disbanded. Along with his wife, he returns to his hometown in Yamagata and starts looking for a job. He makes way to NK Agent, a travel agency he guesses, as the ad had described itself as dealing with ‘departures’. No experience required. Good pay and short hours? Yep – sounds good.