Director Juzo Itami has taken death to new comic heights in this broad farce about a Japanese family's preparations for a funeral. When an old patriarch dies, the burial duties fall to a younger daughter, Chizuko (Nobuka Miyamoto) and her husband Wabisuke (Tsutomu Yamazaki). A full Buddhist ceremony is in order, naturally. And so, in the face of the unknown, the couple does the obvious thing--watch a video on funerals, and practice their lines. But then there's the payment for the priest to haggle over, the family members who want to stay up late and party (taking the social implications of a wake to its furthest extent), and Wabisuke's mistress, who shows up at the worst possible time making amorous demands that, in the circumstances, are tasteless at best. Itami builds his sly socio-comic portrait with broad strokes and wonderful attention to detail (for example: when the priest drones on a bit too long to the kneeling participants, one young man gets up to answer the phone only to stumble because his legs have fallen asleep.) Not a fast-paced, visual gag a minute kind of film, The Funeral will reward the patient viewer, both with its insights into Japanese culture and customs, and with its universal glimpses into the whole of human nature. Recommended. (See D.O.A. for availability.)
The Funeral
[Blu-ray/DVD Review—May 25, 2022—Criterion, 124 min., in Japanese w/English subtitles, not rated, Blu-ray: $39.95, DVD: $29.95—Making its debut on Blu-ray and latest appearance on DVD, The Funeral (1984) is presented with an excellent high-definition transfer and extras including new interviews with actors Nobuko Miyamoto and Manpei Ikeuchi, the short program “Creative Marriages: Juzo Itami & Nobuko Miyamoto,” commercials for Ichiroku Tart by director Juzo Itami, and a booklet with an essay by author Pico Iyer, excerpts from Itami’s 1985 book “Diary of The Funeral,” and from a 2007 remembrance of Itami by actor Tsutomu Yamazaki. Bottom line: Itami’s delightful maiden film looks sharp on Blu-ray.]