JAPANESE FILM “DEPARTURES”. Can PARTING be such SWEET SORROW?

THANK GOD for such a beautiful touch-your-soul movie.

I didn’t realize that  “DEPARTURES” can be so emotionally uplifting.

It serves as a grim reminder that LIFE CAN BE WONDERFUL , if we allow it to be.

And shouldn’t we all?

YES , there’s no  such thing in life as permanence.

We come, we go.

Life s a series of comings and goings.

We live, we die.

It’s a rite of passage, a journey in this world, the very moment we were born.

PARTING can be such sweet sorrow.

It can really rip right into your very soul – and tear your emotions apart.

It’s heartbreaking,

Especially if it’s time to say “goodbye” to someone who had always loved you,

And who had stood by you through the test of time,

Did I not read somewhere of this poem …?

**” …  where would you go

that i cannot follow?

for how long must i wait

until we meet again?**

what would i do

in times that i miss you?

where would i go

in times when i long to see you again?

how must i spend

the nights without you?

**how do i bear

each morning that you’re not there?

shall i ever smile again?

will i ever laugh again?

will i ever face the world again

knowing that im not alone?**

why must you leave me?

why must i cry these tears

when you’re not here

to wipe them all away?

why must i suffer

the empty days without my beloved?

**why must i dream

without you by my side?

the days shall never be the same again

i will never be the same again … “**

THERE’S A QUIET SERENITY AND BEAUTY IN DEATH.

Maybe that is what Japanese film director YOJIRO TAKITA is leading us to believe in his 2009 ACADEMY AWARD WINNER FOR BEST FOREIGN FILM – “DEPARTURES”.

It is steeped in realism, warmth and tenderness.

His hero is an out-of-work classical cellist who takes on another disdainful job, that of an “encoffineer” or a funeral professional.

Needless to say, all  human beings have to die someday, but this dreadful subject is taboo for most.

We do not wish to confront it.

But death happens and the dead occupies a large part of life.

DEPARTURES , the award winning Japanese film explores the universality of death to help the film finds its international audience.

You are treated to emotion-wrenching scenes of death rituals, of the handling of corpses,

Before sending them into the next world.

Watch this poignant moment in the movie when an old man says:

“I’ve often thought that maybe, death is like a gateway,

Dying doesn’t mean the end,

You go through it and onto the next thing,

And as the gatekeeper,

I have sent many on their way,

Telling them, ‘Off you go,

We’ll meet again! ‘ “

So count your blessings,

Savor every drop of your life and friendship now.

Treasure your loved ones around you.

Never take anybody for granted.

They may be here today, and gone tomorrow.

Say something nice.

Give your loved ones warm hugs.

Talk to your parents,

Tomorrow is another day.

And tomorrow may be too late.

NO, this is not a movie review.

It’s rather, a MORAL that I derive after watching.

The hero plays the cello.

Every time his music starts, you can almost grasp the intensity, the haunting beauty of the piece.

It strikes a cord in me that life’s bitter-sweet …

So much so that my eyes tear ….

“DEPARTURES” helps me remember what I might otherwise forget -

A lesson in positive life-preservation.

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