Departures

Aroview: Poignant Oscar-winner that’s won over many hearts with its affecting tale of self-discovery, centered on a failed cellist whose career unexpectedly veers towards the Japanese ceremonial art of ‘encoffinment’.

The more cloying aspects of the film are easily overlooked for the sensitivity in which it tackles such universal subjects as mortality, bereavement and grief. For all its attention to the sobering aspects of life though, this possesses both an ice-breaking sense of humour, with its protagonist-turned-reluctant-undertaker receiving an often-amusing crash course in funeral practices, as well as a broadly appealing and life-affirmative tone, cementing it as something of a feel-good classic.