Osôshiki

A wonderful Japanese (black) comedy that deals with the serious, yet funny situation of a funeral. Many black comedies will be more funny than serious, after all, the movie is making fun at a serious issue. Still, The Funeral jumps back between characters that creates a balanced story that is serious, yet funny. Many comedies will not include moments of culture. Here, the movie makes several moments of the story very real as the story showcases the culture of a certain people and their customs. Director Juzo Itami was considered one of Japan's interesting film makers. Since his suicide in the 1990's, very few film makers have come close to capturing his style of movie making. Similar to Passed Away and Marvin's Room, The Funeral is a touching movie with moments of pure delight.

I have never seen a film quite so strange to me as this , but it made a real impression, at times very funny, sometimes sad but always watchable and endearing.

The scene where the kids are looking in on the cremation of the body,was at first unnerving,but also hilarious.

The little details in the script make it worth watching again and again.This was the first Itami film I saw and afterwards I sought out as many as I could get hold of.

The acting was superb, at times I felt as though I was intruding on the family, and felt almost embarrased.

I had the good fortune to see 'The Funeral' in a real theater. The ultra-close-ups of the stockinged feet, magnified to 40 feet high, is unforgettable. Sadly, Fox Lorber has released 'The Funeral' on DVD using a scratched, pan-and-scan print. And since this film will never be a big best seller, I guess this is all we'll have. There's the inevitable comparison to 'Tampopo' and 'A Taxing Woman.' For me, 'The Funeral' is the best of the three because its humor is subtle and nuanced (the older brother in the foreground, trying to figure out which way is north, while the action goes on way off in the corner, is a perfect example). I still love 'Tampopo' (although it got the same rough treatment on DVD), but 'The Funeral' leaves me with more to feel, more to think about. I am certainly not Japanese, and I'm sure that much of the film flies by without my comprehending just what's going on. But I get more than enough from 'The Funeral' to make it one of my favorite films.

A look at how Japanese deal with death, with a humourous twist. It is much darker and less light heartedly funny as Itami's other efforts, like Tampopo or A Taxing Woman. The movie still takes a somewhat irreverent look at the whole funeral process in Japan. I would recomend this movie if you like his other ones.

Entertaining and enjoyable are words that best describe the mechanisms set in motion reflected by the film's ability to hold a viewer's interest and curiosity. Funny and erotic at times the film creates a surreal atmosphere that offers surprises so that you end up watching because you're not certain what will happen next or, at times, the direction in which the film intends to take you. That the film was originally produced in black and white goes some way towards enhancing its surreal impact. While the acting is convincing, the people easy to relate and the background always worthy of note. This is a film that needs to be viewed several times in order to properly digest the complexities of its composition and successful depiction of aspects relating to death.