History Film / Departures

* OutDamnedSpot: Daigo goes crazy scrubbing himself at the public bath after his traumatic first day on the job.
* ParentalAbandonment: Daigo keeps an enduring grudge against his father for going away all those years ago.
** [[spoiler: Daigo's office mate is herself a MissingMom and deeply regrets it. She says (and it's implied that Daigo's dad could have been the same way) that she can't return due to being from a small town where she would be viciously persecuted.]]

''Departures'' is a Japanese film directed by Takita Yojiro and scored by Music/JoeHisaishi, which won the [[UsefulNotes/AcademyAward Oscar]] for best foreign film in 2009.

Offered an immediate start and a fantastic wage by simply for turning up, Daigo presses business owner Sasaki and learns that the ad was a misprint: the job is with "departures" in the sense of [[NeverSayDie "the recently departed"]]. Hardly enthused about being a type of mortician, Daigo reluctantly becomes an assistant, an especially undesirable job due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[UsefulNotes/ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

* BadAssGrandma: The old lady who runs the public baths single-handedly [[spoiler: until she collapses]].

Offered an immediate start and a fantastic wage by simply for turning up, Daigo presses business owner Sasaki and learns that the ad was a misprint: the job is with "departures" in the sense of [[NeverSayDie "the recently departed"]]. Hardly enthused about being a type of mortician, Daigo reluctantly becomes an assistant, an especially undesirable job due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

-->-- '''Creator/RogerEbert''', quoting ''Gates of Heaven'' in his review of ''Departures''.

Kobayashi Daigo is a cello player in a classical orchestra in Tokyo, but when his cash-strapped ensemble is disbanded, he finds himself without a job. He decides to give up on music and move with his wife back to his hometown in Yamagata prefecture, in northern Japan.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]][[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste, as it was a religion that (unlike UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated -- it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of Burakumin continued to exist '''''well into the 1970s''''' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: [[spoiler:A particularly devious example, since it ''had'' to have been on purpose with an American audience in mind - Tomeo is clearly wearing a ''boy's'' uniform in that black-ribboned photo.]]

''Departures'' is a Japanese film directed by Takita Yojiro and scored by Music/JoeHisaishi, which won the [[AcademyAward Oscar]] for best foreign film in 2009.

* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: The Wholesome Crossdresser, though we only hear this from the SeenItAll president.]]

* [[spoiler: WholesomeCrossdresser: The deceased pretty girl in the opening scenes and the receiver of a red dress in the trailers is actually a boy.]]

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]][[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} and UsefulNotes/{{Shinto}}) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of untouchables continued to exist well into ''the 1970s'' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

''Departures'' is a Japanese film directed by Takita Yojiro and scored by {{Music/JoeHisaishi}}, which won the [[AcademyAward Oscar]] for best foreign film in 2009.

''Departures'' is a Japanese film directed by Takita Yojiro, which won the [[AcademyAward Oscar]] for best foreign film in 2009.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]][[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike Buddhism and Shinto) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of untouchables continued to exist well into ''the 1970s'' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]][[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike [[UsefulNotes:Buddhism Buddhism]] and [[UsefulNotes:Shinto Shinto]]) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of untouchables continued to exist well into ''the 1970s'' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]][[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike [[UsefulNotes/Buddhism Buddhism]] and [[UsefulNotes/Shinto Shinto]]) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of untouchables continued to exist well into ''the 1970s'' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/[[ImperialJapan pre-1868 Japan]][[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike UsefulNotes/Buddhism and UsefulNotes/Shinto) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of untouchables continued to exist well into ''the 1970s'' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/pre-1868 Japan[[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral character and made them and all their children irreperably evil to the point that merely seeing or being in the presence of an ''Untouchable'' could lead you down the path of vice and puppy-kicking. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, making things from animals (e.g. leather), and moving and preparing for funerals and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most 17th-century Japanese Christian converts came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike Buddhism and Shinto) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was soon banned and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. ''De facto'' enclaves/districts of untouchables continued to exist well into ''the 1970s'' despite the abolition of the caste system in the 1860s [[/note]]. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

However, he can't bring himself to admit to his wife the grisly nature of his new job. She finds out, eventually, and freaks out, leaving him on his own until he's changed his mind. But by then he feels he has discovered his calling, and keeps the job. His wife eventually comes back, telling him she's pregnant. She once again tries to talk him into quitting, but when an old woman she had befriended dies, she gets to watch her husband at work, and sheds her prejudices.

** When Daigo's wife finds out that he's not, in fact, working at a travel agency but handling corpses she flips out (''"Unclean!!"''[[note]] Shinto and Buddhism, which still insist upon the spiritual 'filth' of being associated with death, remain popular in Japan and cast a long shadow of her culture [[/note]]) and leaves. [[spoiler: She gets better and returns after finding out she's pregnant.]]

** When Daigo's wife finds out that he's not, in fact, working at a travel agency but handling corpses she flips out (''"Unclean!!"'') and leaves. [[spoiler: She gets better and returns after finding out she's pregnant.]]

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the lingering association of such work with the ''Untouchable'' or ''Burakumin'' caste in Edo-era/pre-1868 Japan[[note]] The lowest of all the castes, the ''Untouchables'' were given the 'spiritually contaminated' jobs that destroyed their moral characer and made them and all their children irreperably evil. These jobs included collecting shit/'nightsoil' from the towns and spreading it about the rice paddies, gutting and chopping up animals for consumption, and moving and preparing and burying/burning the dead. Unsurpisingly, most Japanese Christians came from this caste as it was a religion that (unlike Buddhism and Shinto) told them that they were as spiritually clean/pure as everyone else and that there was no hereditary spiritual taint upon them and their children owing to their jobs. This was a major reason why Christianity was persecuted in Japan and its followers exterminated - it threatened to elevate the ''Untouchables'' to the status of full-citizens, undermining the entire basis of the caste system and by extension Japanese Society itself. [[/note]] Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

He settles in his late mother's house, and applies for a job in what appears to be a travel agency. In fact, the job offer had been deliberately advertised in a misleading way: the business is actually that of a mortician, who couldn't find an assistant due to the traditional taboo on death in Japanese culture. Daigo, at first reluctant, warms to the job, as he discovers it implies a deep form of respect and care for the deceased. In a heavily ritualized ceremony, his boss and he prepare the bodies for encoffinment, before the eyes of the relatives.

Kobayashi Daigo is a cello player in a classical orchestra in Tokyo, but when his cash-strapped ensemble is disbanded, he finds himself without a job. He decides to give up on music and move with his wife back to his hometown of Yamagata in northern Japan.

* [[spoiler: DrivenToSuicide: The Wholesome Crossdresser]]

* TheFunInFuneral: The lead character finds himself in all sorts of funerals from the quiet and charming to the loud and raucous.
* FuroScene: Daigo finds out the public baths he used to patronize as a child are still open, and becomes a regular once again.
* HeroicBSOD: After his first day Daigo is in shock, can't stand the sight of a chicken his wife is preparing, and is so comforted/overwhelmed by his wife's "purity" that he practically ravishes her in the kitchen.

* MeaningfulFuneral: Several of them in the course of the story, [[spoiler:especially the last one, that of Daigo's father.]]

* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Averted. The characters leave Tokyo early on, and most of the film takes place in small-town Japan.