'Departures' can make you fly

It was a last minute decision to join a friend to see a Japanese art-house movie called Departures. Thanks to the power of Twitter, which you can follow me thorugh the button to the right of this blog, I have managed to get an invite from a fellow blogger on my updates when I saw him inviting anyone who was interested to see the movie. He stated in his update to be at this place which is an upscale movie theater for 'dinner and movie'. I thought it was just an impromptu gathering. I asked for 2 seats in which another was for my wife.

I arrived in a separate car from my wife but just behind each other as we entered the parking lot there. I went for my prayer as she went to look for the counter as I was running late. When I arrived later, I found my wife just sitting and she told me the counter that was set up did not recognised my friend's name. I went and asked. There were tickets and the people manning the counter gave me a weird look. They gave their cards which are for a PR company and then the person in charge told me the name of the company which was hosting the event. It was Xiao En. A bereavement company.

Huh? I asked. Bereavement? Yep, Chinese funeral company. Then, it hit me. I read the synopsis for the Departure which was about a guy who went back to his hometown and took the only available job which was available for a cello player like him. It was preparing the dead for their 'departure'. When I met the CEO later, I understood everything. He was introduced to the movie by his wife and he just had to share it with clients and friends. 

As for the movie, it was sentimental bordering towards melodramatic but it was a gentle reminder and the melody which came from the cello that the main character played and the people in it with the landscape, it was just beautiful. I saw Yasmin Ahmad there, the filmaker storyteller extraordinaire whom I know love Japanese movies (I know it through her blog - The Storyteller 2). It is the best endorsement for Malaysian fans of indie movie, especially Japanese to go and watch it.... 

Some images....