The Departure

It’s not often one can have a genuinely spiritual experience watching a movie. But that’s precisely what’s on offer with The Departure, Lana Wilson’s quietly galvanizing portrait of life, death and the thin places in between in modern-day Japan.

The Departure is an excellent example of a filmmaker finding a perfect wavelength with her main character.

Wilson’s film, a quiet wonder, emphasizes the courage it takes to choose the hard work of living.

A rich, rewarding documentary that digs deep into major questions without being afraid of the answers.

Unfailingly sensitive about issues of selflessness and suffering, The Departure is in a way its own work of meditation, on the pressures of living up to the turbulent promise of life’s expected length.

Sad, tender and quietly moving, The Departure never says more than it needs to, much like its subject, a Buddhist priest who counsels those contemplating suicide.

The Departure presents patterns in suicidal people while according them humanity, which isn’t a small accomplishment.