Event Description: Rated PG-13 for thematic material - 130 min. In Japanese with English subtitles. Masahiro Motoki is Daigo, a young cellist for a classical orchestra; when the orchestra goes bankrupt, Daigo finds his employment opportunities limited. He and his wife Mika (Ryoko Hirosue) move to a small town in northern Japan, where they occupy Daigo's childhood home. Desperate for work, Daigo answers an ad for someone to handle "departures." He thinks it refers to a travel agency. It actually involves the particularly Japanese occupation of "encoffinment," in which the dead are ceremoniously prepared for cremation. It's considered a low caste profession; Daigo doesn't dare tell Mika about his new job. Last year's Oscar winner for Best Foreign Film offers an interesting glimpse at a side of japanese culture that Westerners rarely see.
Directions:
Salina Art Center & Cinema 242 S. Santa Fe PO Box 743 Salina, KS 67402
