The Funeral (1984 film)
| The Funeral | |
|---|---|
DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Juzo Itami |
| Written by | Juzo Itami |
| Produced by | Seigo Hosogoe |
| Starring | Tsutomu Yamazaki Nobuko Miyamoto Kin Sugai Asao Sano Hideji Ōtaki |
| Cinematography | Yonezô Maeda |
| Edited by | Akira Suzuki |
| Music by | Joji Yuasa |
| Color process | Technicolor |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 124 mins |
| Country | Japan |
| Language | Japanese |
The Funeral (Japanese: お葬式, Hepburn: Osōshiki) is a 1984 Japanese comedy film written and directed by Juzo Itami.
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 Itami's feature film debut and was an enormous success in Japan.[4] It won five Japanese Academy Awards in 1985 including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor for Tsutomu Yamazaki.[5] It was nominated in a further five categories and also came first in the annual Kinema Junpo critics' poll.[6][4] In May 2022, the Criterion Collection released a restoration of the film on Blu-ray.[7] The film was described by The New Yorker as a “prize-winner in Japan”.[8]
Itami took inspiration for the film from his experience with the funeral of his father-in-law (Nobuko Miyamoto's father).
In 1992, it was screened on the United Kingdom's Channel 4 under the title Death, Japanese Style.[9]
Plot
Shinkichi Amamiya (Hideji Otaki) is a difficult 69-year-old man, married to Kikue (Kin Sugai). He dies suddenly of a heart attack, and it falls to his daughter Chizuko (Nobuko Miyamoto) and son-in-law Wabisuke Inoue (Tsutomu Yamazaki) to organize the funeral at their house.
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 gateball 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.
Cast
- Tsutomu Yamazaki as Wabisuke Inoue
- Nobuko Miyamoto as Chizuko Amamiya
- Kin Sugai as Kikue Amamiya
- Hideji Otaki as Shokichi Amamiya
References
- ^ "お葬式 : 作品情報・キャスト・あらすじ". eiga.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "The Funeral (1984) – Release info". IMDb. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ Maslin, Janet (23 October 1987). "Film: 'The Funeral,' a Comedy by Juzo Itami". The New York Times. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ a b "展示（13）：映画監督". 伊丹十三記念館 (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ 第８回日本アカデミー賞優秀作品 (in Japanese). Retrieved 28 March 2013.
- ^ "伊丹十三記念館 記念館便り 映画『お葬式』シナリオつき絵コンテノート。". 伊丹十三記念館 (in Japanese). 20 November 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "The Funeral (1984)". The Criterion Collection. Retrieved 12 November 2023.
- ^ "Noodles". The New Yorker. 25 May 1987. Retrieved 20 January 2026.
- ^ "Listings – Sunday, 8th March 1992". The Television & Radio Database. Archived from the original on June 21, 2023. Retrieved 2024-05-15.
External links
- The Funeral at IMDb
- The Funeral at Rotten Tomatoes
- New York Times review
- 1994 Los Angeles Times review