Departures by Yōjirō Takita (2008) touches on the theme of “death”, depicting the profession of funeral embalmers. Daigo, a former cellist, takes on the job of a funeral caretaker, and throughout his journey, he gains new insights on professionalism, respect for the previously shunned (i.e. he learning to see his career in a new light), relationships, and ultimately, life and death. The movie definitely shed a new light on how the funeral profession is like, and after watching the movie, I have newfound respect for these workers, their job certainly encompasses more than what we can imagined.
