Death informs life in this elegantly simple Japanese film about unemployed cellist Daigo (Masahiro Motoki) who takes a job in "departures". But rather than becoming, as he presumed, a travel agency rep, he finds himself apprentice to a terse undertaker (Tsutomu Yamazaki) and learning how to prepare the bodies of the dead for their journeys to the next world. Daigo proves adept at the work, his cellist's fingers quickly adapting to the rituals of washing the bodies of the recently departed - it's a pity his wife (Ryoko Hirosue) is repulsed by his new profession. Winner of the 2009 Oscar for best foreign film, Departures's whimsical take on the Japanese funeral industry proves surprisingly funny. Director Yojiro Takita delights in playing with the squeamish qualities of his subject, as the undertakers deal with deceased transvestites and shoot ill-conceived corporate videos. Yet it's also gently uplifting, as Daigo's journey of self-discovery is fired by his newfound appreciation of the end that awaits us all.

Daigo, a cellist, is laid off from his orchestra and moves with his wife back to his small hometown where the living is cheaper. Thinking he’s applying for a job at a travel agency he finds he’s being interviewed for work with departures of a more permanent nature – as an undertaker’s assistant.