Daigo, the protagonist of Departures, is an unemployed cellist who, with his wife, retreats to his rural hometown and takes a job as a mortician’s assistant, preparing bodies for cremation. He soon comes to appreciate that his eccentric boss views the task as an art, and the scenes in which they ritually perform their work, with family members of the deceased in attendance, are wonderful to behold…and not without their humorous moments.
