Watch the trailer for “Departures”

The Apple Trailers page recently posted the trailer for Departures, the Japanese film that won the 2008 Oscar for Best Foreign Picture. Here’s the synopsis from the trailer page:

Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Language Film, DEPARTURES is a delightful journey into the heartland of Japan as well an astonishingly beautiful look at a sacred part of Japan’s cultural heritage. “Departures” follows Daigo Kobayashi (Masahiro Motoki), a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and who is suddenly left without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled “Departures” thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a “Nokanshi” or “encoffineer,” a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of “Nokanshi,” acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living. A story of love, of discovery, of revelation and of the transcending human spirit, “Departures” will linger in your heart and mind long after viewing.

While I was in Japan, I chatted with one of my friends who had seen it, and he had nothing but great things to say about the film. And the film has been garnering raves across the board. Oh, and it also won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, FWIW.

More info can be found on the film’s official website.