Comments on: Review of the new Japanese film, Departures http://www.blogut.ca/2009/06/26/departures/ A blog about University of Toronto events, news, university groups, clubs, campus life, and toronto student life: written by U of T students. Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:41:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: bart http://www.blogut.ca/2009/06/26/departures/comment-page-1/#comment-162090 bart Sat, 11 Jul 2009 08:58:28 +0000 http://www.blogut.ca/?p=2607#comment-162090 I am absolutely shocked that this piece of sentimental hogwash was awarded an Academy Award...it is not plot driven,it s character driven and what a sorry lot these people are...a husband who undertakes(pardon the pun) a socially unacceptable profession because it pays well, a wife who leaves him when she discovers what he does only to return when she discovers she is pregnant without a changing expression throughout the entire film, a long,long long denouement which,i regreat to say, is foreseeable from the balcony60 minutes before it happens. There are some lovely ,gentle and amusing touches, but as I left the theatre my only thought was "that's 2 hours I'll never get back." I am absolutely shocked that this piece of sentimental hogwash was awarded an Academy Award…it is not plot driven,it s character driven and what a sorry lot these people are…a husband who undertakes(pardon the pun) a socially unacceptable profession because it pays well, a wife who leaves him when she discovers what he does only to return when she discovers she is pregnant without a changing expression throughout the entire film, a long,long long denouement which,i regreat to say, is foreseeable from the balcony60 minutes before it happens. There are some lovely ,gentle and amusing touches, but as I left the theatre my only thought was “that’s 2 hours I’ll never get back.”

]]> By: Mark @ OISE http://www.blogut.ca/2009/06/26/departures/comment-page-1/#comment-161279 Mark @ OISE Sat, 27 Jun 2009 18:05:25 +0000 http://www.blogut.ca/?p=2607#comment-161279 The "mired in cliche" criticism, and your comments about being overly long and slow, are typical Western critique of a Japanese film. You need to watch it with a Zen mind, observing the beauty, participating in the stillness and grace of each movement. The issue is not that you can see the plot coming - this is not a plot-driven film. It is the characters who develop, it is the glimpse into a very private (and foreign, even for most Japanese people prior to the film coming out), that is the value of this film. It is beautiful, moving, and peaceful. Highly recommended. (and it would be a great double-bill with After Life) The “mired in cliche” criticism, and your comments about being overly long and slow, are typical Western critique of a Japanese film. You need to watch it with a Zen mind, observing the beauty, participating in the stillness and grace of each movement. The issue is not that you can see the plot coming – this is not a plot-driven film. It is the characters who develop, it is the glimpse into a very private (and foreign, even for most Japanese people prior to the film coming out), that is the value of this film.

It is beautiful, moving, and peaceful. Highly recommended.

(and it would be a great double-bill with After Life)

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