Departures
Product Details | Similar Products | Customer Reviews | Starring: ~ Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue Tsutomu Yamazaki Kazuko Yoshiyuki Kimiko Yo List Price: $26.98 Our Price: $19.99 You Save: $6.99 (26%) Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours  |
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 | Product Details: Studio: E1 Entertainment Rating:  Sales Rank: 1126 | | Look for similar DVDs by genre: | | Customers who bought this item also bought:
| | Customer Reviews: Musically Mastered and Layered (25 July 2010)One of the most beautiful movies I've seen in a long time. It's easy to see how this film won 2009's best foreign language award at the Academy Awards. It's such a strange thing, the build of the film. At the beginning it very gently hints at humor, kind of sweetly lulls you into feeling like it's a quaint 'slice of life' piece then slowly, not methodically, but very ... musically layers the pieces together to one giant emotionally climactic scene. I mean, this thing hit me like a brick, I can't remember the last time I cried during a film. Just... wow. Departures (23 July 2010)This is a great movie. It has subtitles but most of the time the dialogue is sparse enough to read without having to pause. It is a very tender and sensitive movie without being sentimental or maudlin. It elegantly avoided all the pitfalls that ruin so many of this kind movie. It's educational, but I wouldn't hold that against it. Not what you think (07 July 2010)It's no wonder this is the 2008 academy award winning best foreign film. What a treat of a movie. There are things to learn and great performances by all involved. This is a must see film for people who enjoy a very good story.  Funereal and funny (25 June 2010)Quiet, wry story of a failed celloist who moves back to his hometown and finds a job ritually preparing bodies in front of the deceased's family, readying them for the coffin and cremation. Most of the 2 hour film was unfamiliar and unexpected. Then came the predictable ending that ruined it for me -- altho some may find it heartwarming. Moves at the pace of a funeral tune, not surprisingly. An odd sensation accompanied me thru out the film -- I definitely would not want this being done to me! Gloomy photography perhaps enhanced the mood -- but put me off further. Good actors, however. Different -- and interesting becuz of that. Happy Father's Day (22 June 2010)I rented "Departures" because it won the Oscar recently for Best Foreign-Language Film. There's always a lot of great competition in that category. I found "Departures" to be very engrossing although there were a couple of moments that I was a bit uncertain about where we were going next. The essential plot is that of a gifted (but not THAT gifted) cellist who loses his job (along with the rest of the orchestra). He returns to his relatively small home town and finds a job. It's an unusual job and understanding the job takes up a fair amount of the film. Some people belittle or otherwise criticize the job. (I know my wife probably would have given me a choice of her or the job). The cast of characters begins to come together in a most unique manner and reaches a conclusion that achieves an emotional peak. I was emotionally spent as a result of the last few minutes of the film. As I was watching the ending unfold, I remembered that it was Father's Day. In fact, my two daughters had each called during the movie at which times I gratefully put the DVD on pause until our conversations were completed. I realized that I had been given one of the greatest cinematic glimpses of a father's love (no matter how incomplete the example may have been) that I have experienced on film. (Our own family movies aside, of course). The film, overall, has its' ups and downs and I was disappointed that the director felt he (or she?) had to repeat an earlier scene to make sure we got the message. I recalled the earlier scene quite clearly when the time came to put it all together and I felt that repeating it was an example of a director not respecting his (or her?) audience. Nonetheless, love takes many forms in expressing itself and "Departures" contribution to this kaleidoscope was brilliant and unforgettable. I'm glad I picked just the right day to watch "Departures". |
