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I watched Okuribito (Departures) yesterday, a movie that follows the life of a mortician, an encoffiner. An encoffiner is a person whose profession is to prepare the body of a deceased person and place it in a coffin, especially in a ceremonial or ritualistic manner. Leonor Magtolis Briones, a movie critic, notes, “the encoffiners’ real task is to bring dignity to death, respect to the deceased and solace to those who grieve, and it is not hard to be moved . . . .”

Okuribito is a 2008 Japanese film by Y?jir? Takita. It won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2009 Oscars.

It is a beautiful movie, but a very difficult watch initially. You feel confident of your capability to withstand difficult scenes, but in here, something inside you gives away. At first you start despising the profession and feel the same kind of emotions as felt by the wife of the protagonist. But slowly, you are awestruck with the beauty of the process, the incredible art, and the relevance of the ritual. It touches you deep within.

I don’t know what motivated me to watch this movie. Perhaps it was the fact that I had nothing else to do at that time. But I am now incredibly thankful for the impulsive decision. Though the movie is about a man’s journey, it has many underlying tones to it. There are quite a few aspects that are so very relevant to our own lives. There was once a debate at my house on how once people take care of their need for food and shelter, they move on to think about supposedly higher level things. The argument surrounded the relative progress made by different civilizations around the world. But in the face of this movie, all those arguments fall apart. Through this movie you realize that a profession can be cherished for what good does it do to the people around us. You may not be making millions (or even thousands) but can live a very simple, satisfying, and beautiful life. The taste of food does not change with how secure you are financially. Those things take care of themselves once you are connected with yourself. And the fact that death is inevitable. In one line of the movie, the main character says (not verbatim) – “My father left this world leaving behind just a carton full of items”. You see what I mean. The movie also showed one of the best husband-wife relationship I have seen ever. It was just beautiful.

The movie is very well made. I am not too keen to speak about the technicalities of the movie because, at one point, it does not matter. But I would like to highlight its music. Its refreshing. Anyone who is motivated to watch this movie must first read the story (at least the gist). Only if you feel comfortable with the subject, should you venture. And even if you do not subscribe to my enthusiasm or assessment, its not a big deal.