Homegrown Hit by Lisbeth Pentelius
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ittle-seen Japanese film Departures, or Okuribito, caused waves overseas and astounded movie critics when it snagged the Academy Award for best foreign language film earlier this year. In the lavishly scored tale, directed by Yojiro Takita, cellist Daigo Kobayashi (played by Masahiro Motoki) loses his job, returns to his hometown in northern Japan and reluctantly enters the mortuary business, becoming a “gatekeeper” between the living and the dead. While Kobayashi has to deal with the disapproval and eventual estrangement of his wife and small-town acquaintances over his new profession, he begins to feel pride in his work and sets out to perfect the art of traditional undertaking. While preparing the body of the deceased mother of his childhood friend, the former instrumentalist finally gains the respect and understanding he has longed for in this weighty journey of wonderment, pleasure, life and death. “It’s not just about the negative aspects of death,” Motoki said of the film after picking up a best actor trophy at the recent Asian Film Awards. “It’s also about how you can accept death in a peaceful way and move on positively.” Despite its lengthy running time (130 minutes) and “emotional manipulation” at times, Variety writer Eddie Cockrell concludes that the compelling look at an eccentric profession, showy soundtrack and realistic-looking corpses make the film a solid triumph. “TV scribe Kundo Koyama’s first big-screen script peppers the proceedings with rich character detail and near-screwball interludes that shouldn’t fit but somehow do, owing to Motoki’s appeal,” he writes. “Departures is a delightful journey into the heartland of Japan, as well as an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan’s cultural heritage.” ®
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Burn Notice
by Lisbeth Pentelius
“Spies don’t get fired, they get burned.” So goes the tagline of this American comedy-action series starring Jeffrey Donovan as Michael Westen, a highly trained American secret agent cut loose by his superiors while on assignment in Africa. With no money and zero resources to turn to once he has returned to his hometown of Miami, Westen is marked as a hazard for other government jobs. The show follows its protagonist as he works as a freelance private eye to fund his own investigations into the people and reasons behind his “burn notice.” In the meantime, he must stay several steps ahead of old enemies looking to exact revenge for previously committed grievances. His support team is formed by ex-lover Fiona, a dynamic reconnaissance and surveillance specialist, and semi-retired mole Sam Axe, who has accumulated an arsenal of “mementos” from his espionage days. With a mingling of fast-paced action and deadpan humor, “Burn Notice” is a wildly entertaining hunt for justice. ® The Video Library stocks season one of “Burn Notice.”
16 May 2009 iNTOUCH