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DEPARTURESMovie Reviews
Japanese drama about an out-of-work cellist who accepts a job as the equivalent of an undertaker in order to provide for himself and his young wife. Cast:Masahiro Motoki, Ryoko Hirosue, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kimiko Yo, Takashi SasanoDirector:Yojiro TakitaRelease Date:May 29, 2009DVD Release:January 12, 2010From:Regent ReleasingRating:PG-13Length:2 hr. 10 min.
Departures played in key cities to very good reviews. • Roger Moore wrote in the Orlando Sentinel, "...poetic, funny and life-affirming.... shows us a place where death and the dead are treated with a respect the rest of the world should envy." • And Joe Williams wrote in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "...sometimes macabre and sometimes manipulative, but the way it speaks to the spirit is miraculous." More Reviews Below...
Leah Rozen, People: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...lovely... tells with delicacy and humor how an unemployed cellist finds his calling after taking a job handling the ceremonial preparation of corpses for cremation."(See all of Leah Rozen's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 47 words, 06/04/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD(cg) "It's sure to squeeze the tear ducts... But Masahiro Motoki, a droll actor, gives Daigo's embrace of the 'normality' of death a stubborn, touching dignity."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 116 words, 05/29/09
Christy Lemire, Associated Press: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...ends up being most effective in the details.... Although the film is about the huge and universal topic of death, these smaller moments provide it with some life."(See all of Christy Lemire's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 507 words, 05/28/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a beautifully composed movie. The score, heavy on the cello, is gorgeous, the visuals are painterly in their composition, and the film is calm and stately..."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 364 words, 05/29/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (9 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...every turn is signposted so far in advance that you may find yourself wishing for a fast-forward button to confirm your hunches about what's going to happen."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 05/29/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Yojiro Takita and his casting director, Takefumi Yoshikawa have found actors whose faces, so very human, embody what 'Departures' wants to say about them."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 711 words, 05/28/09
Ella Taylor, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Takita's unpretentious classicism and his candid delight in nature work their modest way into our sympathies, along with the plaintive cello pieces by composer Joe Hisaishi..."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 05/27/09
Philip Kennicott, Washington Post: VERY GOOD(cg) "...as polished as it is heavy-handed, and it leaves one under a spell. Death is a hard subject to focus on for two hours, and the film never drags."(See all of Philip Kennicott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 852 words, 06/19/09
Walter Addiego, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "Yojiro Takita allows the film to find its own pace -- too much so. He also permits some jarringly broad humor and isn't above out-and-out yanking at the heartstrings..."(See all of Walter Addiego's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 569 words, 07/03/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: EXCELLENT(cg) "...it's Masahiro Motoki's performance that the film depends on, and he carries it off beautifully. He's the best thing about 'Departures' and elevates it..."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 529 words, 07/17/09
Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer: VERY GOOD(cg) "So sympathetic a filmmaker is Yojiro Tajita that by film's end, we have fully experienced his characters' sorrow, joy and emotional catharsis."(See all of Carrie Rickey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 438 words, 06/12/09
Ty Burr, Boston Globe: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "At its best, 'Departures' is a middlebrow movie of uncommonly quiet power. At its worst, it's a TV film that got away."(See all of Ty Burr's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 502 words, 06/19/09
John Hartl, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...such an elegant, beautifully mounted meditation on death, funeral customs and parent-child relations that you may find yourself sniffling and resisting simultaneously."(See all of John Hartl's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 450 words, 06/05/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...poetic, funny and life-affirming.... shows us a place where death and the dead are treated with a respect the rest of the world should envy."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 382 words, 07/10/09
Michael Sragow, Baltimore Sun: VERY GOOD(cg) "...even when the form of 'Departures' is contrived, the feelings it contains are genuine. The ending, which involves a rock, would wring tears from a stone."(See all of Michael Sragow's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 482 words, 08/07/09
ALTERNATIVE/INDIE PRESS (6 Reviews)
Ella Taylor, Village Voice/LA Weekly: VERY GOOD "Takita's unpretentious classicism and his candid delight in nature work their modest way into our sympathies, along with the plaintive cello pieces by composer Joe Hisaishi..."(See all of Ella Taylor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 652 words, 05/27/09
Peter Keough, Boston Phoenix: VERY GOOD(cg) "...has the look, the feel, and the subtitles of a foreign movie; yet it offers the comforting familiarity of American-style sentimentality and closure."(See all of Peter Keough's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 170 words, 06/18/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...every turn is signposted so far in advance that you may find yourself wishing for a fast-forward button to confirm your hunches about what's going to happen."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 05/29/09
Eddie Cockrell, Daily Variety: VERY GOOD "...a tonally eccentric, lushly scored meller... Fascinating glimpses into a unique profession trump the pic's emotional manipulation and substantial length..."(See all of Eddie Cockrell's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 428 words, 09/02/08
Maggie Lee, Hollywood Reporter: EXCELLENT "A moving celebration of life through showing reverence for death.... thematically respectable, technically hard to fault, artfully scripted to entertain and touch."(See all of Maggie Lee's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 432 words, 11/13/08
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...every turn is signposted so far in advance that you may find yourself wishing for a fast-forward button to confirm your hunches about what's going to happen."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 576 words, 05/29/09
14.6 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Departures's reviews are separated by an average 14.6 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Departures (33 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Departures's reviews cover 61.6% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 13,884 words involume (average is 20,172 words). Length:The film's reviews average 421 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 5 Days After Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Departures's reviews on average broke 5 days after opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Departures's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
Departures (33 reviews, click on bars for reviews)
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