Recently watched two movies worthy of mention.
A fortnight ago I came across The Assassination of Richard Nixon on tv.. And my reaction would be that it was a riveting performance by Sean Penn. His character was entirely believable, and you are even moved to support him and his values. Somehow, something, somewhere, goes wrong along the way.... culminating in what I thought was a very weird title of a movie at that time, because, factually, I had not heard of any significant attempt on Nixon's life. but it all links up. I must say that with that name for a movie I had never bothered to find out what it was really about (although it maybe should have piqued my interest more)... until the chance encounter I have with it on the box.
Last weekend I watched 'Okuribito' ('Departures'), winner of the 2009 Oscar for Best Foreign Film, at Chapter Arts Centre. I have never been to this place - it's a converted former school housing a spacious and comfy cafe (presumably in its canteen), an art gallery space, and a few film screens showcasing a selection of arthouse movies not brought into UK for mainstream release. This only cost me three pounds and the movie was a delectable departure (oops the pun) from the usual kind of movie. It handles death and societal norms and is shot in a very engaging style.
I do have some areas of dissatisfaction - notably with the flow of the movie, e.g. when Mika decides to go home when he sticks to his career as a nokanshi practitioner she returns rather readily and without apparent major opposition although she states that she does not approve of what he is doing. Also when the film cuts to the scene of him playing cello on his own in the countryside (this is used as the film's main poster picture) which has no bearing on the actual plot nor helps with the flow of the movie at all. There are many good points. The acting from Masahiro Motoki is top-notch. I didn't know he is 40+ years old already! He learnt the cello and the art of preparing bodies for cremation just for the movie. There are also humorous scenes which bring some comic relief to the otherwise serious drama and is a good alternative approach in enhancing some of the scenes. Not to mention casting the charming beauty Ryoko Hirosue as his wife was a sure winner (at least with me anyway!)...
However very few films deal with death and bereavement so this movie is itself a refreshing dive into a rather unknown cinematic territory. It is mostly a positive film and seeks more to tell the story of a man rather than to teach you something about life and death, although you do have much to take away from the movie. The only other film I have watched which deals with death is a Hongkong production called Fu Bo (2003). The main character was a coroner's assistant who worked hard at an unpleasant job and who was underpaid and under-appreciated. He had a young son who lived with his wife (they had separated). It talks about what he does, what he feels, and how he is treated by others (including the triads trying to get involved in influencing autopsy results). I remember one line from the movie well - when his boss answers him "未必" in response to a dilemma that he had faced (but by then it had been way too late to change some things).
'Departures' is poignant, 'Fu Bo' is dark and brooding. Two very different films indeed.
