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Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) DVD Region 3

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Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
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Customer Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10 (1)
All Editions Rating: Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9.5 out of 10 (4)

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YesAsia Editorial Description

Winner of Best Foreign Language Film at the 81st Academy Awards, Departures takes a sensitive look at life through the rituals of death. Directed by Takita Yojiro (When the Last Sword is Drawn), Departures (a.k.a. Okuribito) follows the experiences of a young undertaker as he grows into his work. Backdropped by an elegant score from master composer Hisaishi Joe, Departures presents a simple, yet poignant study of how one man comes to terms with his unconventional profession, and how the customs of death affect and reflect the course of life. At times humorous and at times heartbreaking, the film approaches its topic with respect and realism, revealing a fascinating aspect of Japanese culture rarely seen on screen. Leading man Motoki Masahiro (Gemini) anchors the film with a magnificent, understated performance. Co-starring popular actress Hirosue Ryoko (Bubble Fiction: Boom or Bust) and veteran Yamazaki Tsutomu, Departures swept 10 awards at the 32nd Japan Academy Awards including Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, Actor, Supporting Actor, and Supporting Actress.

Out of work with nowhere to go, cellist Kobayashi Daigo (Motoki Masahiro) and his wife (Hirosue Ryoko) leave Tokyo and move back to his sleepy hometown. Daigo answers a help-wanted ad for what he thinks is a travel agency, but turns out to be an encoffinment agency. Taking the job anyway, he begins a new life as an encoffinment specialist under grisly owner Sasaki (Yamazaki Tsutomu). Despite his initial fears and misgivings about cleansing and clothing corpses, Daigo soon discovers the job and the town suit him just fine. Carefully preparing the departed for their final journey with a musician's precision, he finds a greater appreciation and understanding for life. The stigma of the profession, however, is not lost on his wife, and his choice of work gradually takes toll on their marriage.

This edition comes with making of, unreleased encoffinment ritual footage, and trailer.

© 2009 YesAsia.com Ltd. All rights reserved. This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Technical Information

Product Title: Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) 禮儀師之奏鳴曲 (DVD) (中英文字幕) (香港版) 礼仪师之奏鸣曲 (DVD) (中英文字幕) (香港版) Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version) Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)
Also known as: Okuribito 禮儀師の奏鳴曲 礼仪师の奏鸣曲 Okuribito Okuribito
Artist Name(s): Hirosue Ryoko (Actor) | Motoki Masahiro (Actor) | Hisaishi Joe | Yoshiyuki Kazuko | Yamazaki Tsutomu | Yo Kimiko | Sasano Takashi 廣末涼子 (Actor) | 本木雅弘 (Actor) | 久石讓 | 吉行和子 | 山崎努 | 余貴美子 | 笹野高史 广末凉子 (Actor) | 本木雅弘 (Actor) | 久石让 | 吉行和子 | 山崎努 | 余贵美子 | 笹野高史 広末涼子 (Actor) | 本木雅弘 (Actor) | 久石譲 | 吉行和子 | 山崎努 | 余貴美子 | 笹野高史 Hirosue Ryoko (Actor) | Motoki Masahiro (Actor) | Hisaishi Joe | Yoshiyuki Kazuko | Yamazaki Tsutomu | Yo Kimiko | Sasano Takashi
Director: Takita Yojiro 瀧田洋二郎 泷田洋二郎 滝田洋二郎 Takita Yojiro
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Release Date: 2009-06-26
Language: Cantonese, Japanese
Subtitles: English, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese
Country of Origin: Japan
Picture Format: NTSC What is it?
Sound Information: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS Digital Surround
Disc Format(s): DVD-9, DVD
Region Code: 3 - South East Asia (including Hong Kong, S. Korea and Taiwan) What is it?
Rating: IIA
Duration: 130 (mins)
Other Information: 2DVDs
Package Weight: 120 (g)
Shipment Unit: 1 What is it?
YesAsia Catalog No.: 1019854554

Product Information

* Special Features:
- Making-of
- Trailer
- Deleted Scenes
- Photo Gallery

Director : Yojiro Takita

Daigo Kobayashi is a cellist whose dream is shattered when his Tokyo orchestra suddenly closes down. Left with no choice but to sell his prized cello, Daigo returns with his wife Mika to his late mother’s house, deep in the Japanese countryside.
In need of money, Daigo responds to an ad in the paper for a job in ‘Departures’, mistakenly thinking that it might be somehow related to travel. But to his complete surprise Daigo finds he has applied for a position as an ‘encoffineer’ – a man who performs the delicate and traditional Japanese ritual of preparing the bodies of the recently deceased for their departure to the next life – and without having time to think about it, he accepts the job…

Academy Awards 2009 - Best Foreign Language Film
Golden Rooster Award (Chinese Academy Award) - Best Picture, Director and Actor
Montreal World Film Festival - Grand Prix Des Americas
Hochi Film Award – Best Film Award
Nikkan Sports Drama Grand Prix – Best Films, Best Director Award
Hawaii World Film Festival - Audience Award
Additional Information may be provided by the manufacturer, supplier, or a third party, and may be in its original language

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YumCha! Asian Entertainment Reviews and Features

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Editor's Pick of "Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)"

Picked By A-Xiang Joe
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September 30, 2009
An unusual rendezvous with the dead
Even though Departures revolves around a topic people normally avoid touching upon, this endearing and at times sentimental film kept me in a viewing mood.

Departures essentially talks about Kobayashi Daigo who just got used to his position as a professional cellist when his conductor breaks the news that the orchestra he plays in is dissolved. Unable to entertain the cost for the apartment he shares with his wife in Tokyo, Daigo is forced to move back to the countryside home left behind by his deceased mother. The turning point arrives when he comes across a newspaper job advertisement concerning "departures", which he misinterprets as being linked to the tourism industry due to a printing error, but it turns out to be a business for the "departed". Initially hesitant to start a career as an undertaker, Daigo gradually learns to respect and appreciate the way of preparing the departed for their final journey. His growing enthusiasm for his new job, however, is overshadowed by other peoples' unwillingness to accept this meaningful yet despised profession, including his wife Mika who considers it "unclean".

Departures lives on the intensity of its delicate topic, taking the viewers on an emotional ride as we enter the world of dressing, embalming, and casketing the dead. Director TakitaYojiro certainly understands how to keep the viewer attracted to the film's unusual topic, drawing us deeper and deeper into the protagonist's complex life story. Takita has also picked an exquisite cast to complement the film's unique material, led by Motoki Masahiro as Daigo, Hirosue Ryoko as his wife Mika, and Yamazaki Tsutomu in a memorable role as a pondering widower-turned-undertaker. Owing to this choice combination, the macabre tale told in Departures turned into a touching and at the same time convincing viewing experience for me.

Moving at a slow pace and involving matters that are difficult to stomach at times, Departures nevertheless offers a welcome introduction to the craft of undertaking, leaving behind an indelible memory and causing me to see it in a new light. Given the final polish by veteran composer Hisaishi Joe's heartfelt music score, Departures offers a cinematic rite dedicated to the dead that I consider worth watching and reflecting upon.
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This original content has been created by or licensed to YesAsia.com, and cannot be copied or republished in any medium without the express written permission of YesAsia.com.

Customer Review of "Departures (DVD) (English Subtitled) (Hong Kong Version)"

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Average Customer Rating for this Edition: Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10 (1)
Average Customer Rating for All Editions of this Product: Customer Review Rated Bad 9 - 9.5 out of 10 (4)

Kevin Kennedy
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July 31, 2009
Definitely deserves its Academy Award Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
I feared that "Departures" might be a grim, starchy arthouse film; I found it to be a movingly warm, human, even sentimental movie. Kobayashi Daigo (Motoki Masahiro) is a failed cellist, deep in debt. With his wife Mika (Hirosue Ryoko) in tow and no real plans, he returns to his remote hometown, where he can live rent-free in his late mother's home. There Daigo answers a newspaper ad for a job at an agency which "prepares departures". Daigo suspects that the job pertains to the travel industry, but the ad had a typographical error; the agency actually gets "the departed" ready to be placed in coffins.

Once Daigo overcomes his shock, he finds fulfillment in the job, which involves a ritualized performance in which the preparer shows respect and affection for the dead. When the job is done well, it comforts the family of the deceased. Daigo has found his true calling, but he is too ashamed of his job to tell anyone of it. When the truth leaks out, his wife and friends are horrified. Mika is repulsed by his intimacy with dead bodies and blurts that he has become "unclean". When Daigo balks at leaving his job, she leaves him. Mika, however, returns when she learns that she is pregnant. She again demands that Daigo leave the job, arguing (reasonably enough) that their future child will be humiliated by classmates when they learn of Daigo's job.

Will Daigo leave his job or will he lose his wife? The issue is especially poignant as, at age six, Daigo had been abandoned by his father. The resolution of this dilemma is beautifully conceived and emotionally true. Motoki Masahiro is perfect for the conflicted role of Daigo. Yamazaki Tsutomu (familiar to American audiences as the cowboy hat-wearing truck driver in "Tampopo") gives a brilliantly quirky performance as Daigo's boss. Yoshiyuki Kazuko (so good in "Gabai Granny") is equally charming as the owner of the public bath, the community's glue in both life and death. Yo Kimiko works subtle wonders as the agency's receptionist. Takita Yojiro's direction is nearly flawless and the cinematography of mountainous Yamagata Prefecture is spectacular. I found "Departures" to be a richly enjoyable, thought-provoking, and warm-hearted treat.
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Best Review
Mossholder
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June 17, 2009

This customer review refers to Departures (AKA: Okuribito) (DVD) (Japan Version)
1 people found the following helpful

 Outstanding Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
I saw this movie in Yokohama last November and absolutely loved it. The acting is superb. The characters are human, raw, honest and sensitive. The cinematography captures the beauty of the region and highlights the most sensitive nature of being an "undertaker" in Japan and the stigma surrounding it. And yet, for those whose loved ones have died, this is almost like a ministry to the families. Very touching and moving. I can't wait to get the DVD.
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nimitta
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March 24, 2009

This customer review refers to Departures (AKA: Okuribito) (DVD) (Japan Version)
1 people found the following helpful

 the Departures Customer Review Rated Bad 8 - 8 out of 10
Congrat ! this movie has won Best Actor Award at the Asian Film Awards.

I would like to see its dvd with English subtitle to be released soon.

great movie and its OST is oso great !
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Cheng Suang Heng
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February 23, 2009

This customer review refers to Departures (AKA: Okuribito) (DVD) (Japan Version)
2 people found the following helpful

 congrats - oscar best foreign film 2009 Customer Review Rated Bad 10 - 10 out of 10
I am very very very delighted that Okuribito (Departures) from Japan has won!
;)
I am thinking of getting the DVD, but it is a pity that the DVD (as reflected now) does not have English subtitles.
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