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The Funeral (1984 film)
Encyclopedia
is a 1984 Japanese comedy film by director
Itami Juzo.
The film shows the preparations for a traditional Japanese funeral
. It mixes grief at the loss of a husband and father with wry observations of the various characters as they interact during the three days of preparation.
The Funeral was the writing and directing debut of Itami Juzo, and was an enormous success in Japan. It won five Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Tsutomu Yamazaki). It was nominated in a further five categories and also came first in the annual Kinema Junpo critics' poll.
Among other things, the family have to choose a coffin
, hire a priest
, hold a wake
, learn formal funeral etiquette
and hold the service itself.
During the three days of preparation, various tensions within the family are hinted at, such as resentment of a rich but stingy uncle, Inoue's affair with a younger woman, and possibly an affair the dead man himself had with a female croquet
player.
After the service, the long suffering wife delivers a dignified speech to the family regretting that the hospital would not let her be with her husband as he died.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Itami Juzo.
The film shows the preparations for a traditional Japanese funeral
Funeral
A funeral is a ceremony for celebrating, sanctifying, or remembering the life of a person who has died. Funerary customs comprise the complex of beliefs and practices used by a culture to remember the dead, from interment itself, to various monuments, prayers, and rituals undertaken in their honor...
. It mixes grief at the loss of a husband and father with wry observations of the various characters as they interact during the three days of preparation.
The Funeral was the writing and directing debut of Itami Juzo, and was an enormous success in Japan. It won five Japanese Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Actor (Tsutomu Yamazaki). It was nominated in a further five categories and also came first in the annual Kinema Junpo critics' poll.
Plot
Shokichi Amamiya (Otaki Shuji) is a difficult 69-year-old man, married to Kikue (Sugai Kin). He dies suddenly of a heart attack, and it falls to his daughter Chizuko (Miyamoto Nobuko) and son-in-law Wabisuke Inoue (Yamazaki Tsutomu) to organize the funeral at their house.Among other things, the family have to choose a coffin
Coffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
, hire a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, hold a wake
Wake (ceremony)
A wake is a ceremony associated with death. Traditionally, a wake takes place in the house of the deceased, with the body present; however, modern wakes are often performed at a funeral home. In the United States and Canada it is synonymous with a viewing...
, learn formal funeral etiquette
Etiquette
Etiquette is a code of behavior that delineates expectations for social behavior according to contemporary conventional norms within a society, social class, or group...
and hold the service itself.
During the three days of preparation, various tensions within the family are hinted at, such as resentment of a rich but stingy uncle, Inoue's affair with a younger woman, and possibly an affair the dead man himself had with a female croquet
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
player.
After the service, the long suffering wife delivers a dignified speech to the family regretting that the hospital would not let her be with her husband as he died.