Departures

‘Departures’ takes you on beautiful trip to death

Masahiro Motoki (left) and Tsutomu Yamazaki in “Departures.”

Beautiful. Lyrical. Mystifying.
I was simply blown over by the creativity and sensitivity of “Departures.”
If you think this is a travel film, well, it isn't. But don't feel bad. So did the main character.
Daigo Kobayashi, played by Masahiro Motoki, is a cellist in an orchestra. He admits he's not particularly good, but buys an expensive cello the pros would envy. Unfortunately, the concert hall is more than half empty and the orchestra owner announces to the troupe, “The orchestra is dissolved.”
Suddenly Kobayashi has to pay off an expensive instrument and is out of work. His wife, played by Ryoko Hirosue, can support them both, but not the cello.
So Kobayashi decides to move back to the cluttered old home where they can live for free. His mother is dead, his father left home years ago.
But he still needs work and finds and sees an advertisement for someone who can handle “departures.”
So he goes for an interview and the kindly business owner, played by Tsutomu Yamazaki, offers him a job and an obscene amount of money, the resume left unlooked at.
Hmmm, lots of money to work in travel? No. The advertisement had a misprint. It's not “departures,” it's “departed.”
It seems in Japan, where this movie takes place, people used to prepare their relatives' bodies for burial. It was a ceremonial process of washing the deceased and and setting the relative up for burial.
But today, people in Japan hire the work out. This would be Kobayashi's new job.
Well, the first call doesn't go real well. The deceased is an elderly woman found three weeks after she died. Kobayashi loses his lunch and desire to work, but his boss feeds him cash and tell s him to take the rest of the day off.
The Kobayashi character's mother recently died, but his father left them when he was little. In his mind, his father's face is just a blur.
We are introduced to the process of getting the body ready for burial with Kobayashi's boss. The family sits while the body is washed, clothing is rearranged, covers are moved about. It is part religious, it is part haunting ceremony, it is part magic trick.
Slowly, Kobayashi learns the trade. He learns what this final act means to the families of the deceased, whether an elderly grandmother or a young child.
It's a film that will make you cry, it will make you pensive about this world we live in.
The film ends in a beautiful moment in which Kobayashi deals with his father.
And as if a movie can't be more beautiful and uplifting, Kobayashi spends his off time playing his cello, getting better at this trade as his sensitivity grows.
This is a film that simply could not be made in the United States. The film has gotten good word of mouth and is worth your undivided attention. Fortunately, if you have a Netflix account, you can stream this film at your leisure.
It's a film that will live on with you, long after you've forgotten most others.
Access hundreds of Viper movie reviews at videoviper.blogspot.com. Read Lebzelter’s general interest columns at bobleb.blogspot.com.

DEPARTURES • Directed by Yojiro Takita, written by Kundo Koyama • Runtime: 130 minutes • Rated PG-13 for thematic material • 5 stars out of 5

Lassie Come Home

Technicolor, a great dog and Liz Taylor, too

MGM
A YOUNG Elizabeth Taylor with Nigel Bruce in “Lassie Come Home.”

Oh man did Lassie have a time of it in the 1943 family film “Lassie Come Home.”
Filmed in Technicolor, child star Roddy McDowall plays Joe Carraclough, a poor boy growing up in England. But he is rich in that he has the best and smartest collie ever, Lassie, played by Pal.
Pal, by the way, was 3 when he made this movie and played Lassie again two years later in “Son of Lassie.” All Lassies in subsequent films and TV programs are descendants of Pal, who died at 17 in 1958.
The family needs money so dad Sam, played by Donald Crisp, sells the dog to the rich Duke of Rudling, played by Nigel Bruce, best known as Dr. Watson in a series of Sherlock Holmes films.
The duke keeps his pooches in outdoor kennels offering substandard food and an unfeeling keeper.
What is really sad is when young Joe gets out of school and Lassie isn’t under the tree waiting for him. It is his mother, played by Elsa Lanchester, best known as the bride of Frankenstein, who lays out the cold truth. The family is destitute and needs the cash from selling the collie.
Meanwhile, Lassie won’t eat, loses weight and learns to escape by digging under the fence. Joe is overjoyed to see Lassie waiting at school, but of course she (played by a he) must go back to the duke’s home.
This time Lassie escapes by jumping over the fence. Pal is a tremendous actor. Kudos to his trainer! In one scene, Lassie gets back, runs and misses jumping over the fence. He (she) tries again, narrowly missing freedom. The third jump is half-hearted and doesn’t work. All seems lost. But the next jump and the dog is over!
Now I would think it is one thing to teach a dog to jump a fence, but to train it to try and fail three times and succeed on the fourth, all shot in one take, is pretty remarkable.
Of course, a malnourished Lassie must go back to Dr. Watson, er, the duke.
Oh, and the duke has a pretty young niece, who just happens to be Elizabeth Taylor. Be warned, Taylor has a minor role in the film.
Soon the duke and Elizabeth are off to Scotland with Lassie, who gets away again and heads off hundreds of miles to England and her family.
And a nail-biting adventure she has. She is shot, she nearly drowns, she is malnourished, she jumps from the second floor of a big building and is hurt.
Lots of suspense, lots of action. Let me tell you, you will be in there rooting for Lassie!
And you will have a bit of a tear in your eye at the film’s conclusion.
This is a fine family film, although it may prove too much for very young children. It’s best for those maybe 8 or over.
You can’t beat a well-done animal film, especially when the animal is the focus of the film.
So watch it with your family. Will Lassie make it back to her family and will she be able to stay?
As a sidenote, I watched the film on DVD. While it was done in a rich Technicolor, the movie looked worn and had dropouts and color splotches. This would be a great candidate for film restoration and ultimately a Blu-Ray version.
Just a thought.


LASSIE COME HOME • Directed by Fred M. Wilcox • Written by Huog Butler and Eric Knight • Runtime: 89 minutes • Not rated but suitable for all but the very young • 4 stars out of 5

I Am Love

‘I Am Love’ not heavy on plot

MARISA BERENSON and Alba Rohrwackher in “I Am Love.”

After watching the Italian film “I Am Love,” my reaction was, what the heck was this about?
It deals with a rich family, made wealthy because it owns textile industries.
The film seemingly drops into a point in the lives of these characters. We go along for the narrative. Meet the auxiliary characters. Watch them interact. Some die. Some have sex.
Then it’s over.
Tilda Swinton is from Russia and her character marries into a family of rich aristocrats.
She seems a bit uncomfortable helping supervise the birthday party for the family patriarch and keen business head, Edoardo, played by Gabriele Ferzetti.
Director Luca Guadagnino has a nice way of setting up scenes, building suspense through cutaway shots and closeups and swelling music.
We see early on what an opulent family this is. The color and pageantry could belong to an era 100 years ago, rather than the start of the new millennium.
The Swinton character feels strangely apart from the rest of the family, as if she doesn’t totally belong and will never belong.
The old man makes a grand announcement during his birthday dinner. He is retiring, which we learn is a good thing because he will soon be dead.
He flatters his son, played by Pippo Delbono, stating he is everything a father could hope for.
But the old man tosses in a ringer, he announces his son will operate the business only with the assistance of his grandson, played by Flavio Parenti.
As stated, this could have been a turn of the 19-century tale rather than 20th, with the grand dinners and fancy clothing and men taking command.
This is a family well established and cloaked in tradition.
Swinton goes to visit her daughter in another community and spots the chief who handled the party, played by Edoardo Gabbrellini. She follows him and — you guessed it — has sex with him.
Later she finds out her daughter, played by Alba Rohrwacher, is a lesbian. She really doesn’t react as a mother, but comments on how pretty the woman is.
And so it goes. Little revelations. Different well-staged scenes. But nothing I would call an interesting or compelling plot.
Little conflict until late in the film when the son unfortunately slips and falls.
It’s not actually a drawing-room drama. It’s a film in search of meaning and a beefed-up storyline.
Frankly, I was underwhelmed by “I Am Love.” It didn’t love it.

I AM LOVE • Directed and written by Luca Guadagnino • Runtime: 120 minutes • Rated R for sexuality and nudity • 1 star out of 5