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 am going to respectfully disagree with the above comments. Even though I am not Japanese and haven't been to Japan, I have studied Japanese culture (though I can't claim to be an "expert") and I believe that for the most part the humor is easy enough to follow. Like when the priest arrives in a Rolls Royce. It follows the same theme of the wealthy minister in many US comedies. And then there's the organization like how many cremation lunches to make at the crematory. And of course things that have nothing to do with culture like when the manager tries to get up to answer the phone and then collapses because he had been kneeling too long and his legs have gone numb. All the while, the rest of the family is trying to keep from laughing and disrupt the prayer service that's currently taking place. But even the cultural satire is easy to follow. Like when the deceased's brother stops the funeral so all the guests can pose while he takes pictures or then Aoki, one of the guests, brings his movie camera to film everything in order to preserve it. All in all, I rank this film with "The Gods Must be Crazy" is that it does a good job in satirizing a culture's transition from traditional to modern without being disrespectful to that culture. While I do not suggest that this film will teach the viewer about Japanese culture, it is still very enlightening on certain Japanese habits.

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.

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.

. . . from the other comment on this movie. When I first saw THE FUNERAL, for the first forty-five minutes or so, I was disappointed. The video cover can lead one to believe it is a rollicking comedy, perhaps a sex farce. Yet the more I got into the movie, and went with its flow, and immersed myself in its world, the more I enjoyed it. There are parts that I find laugh-out-loud funny, but most of the humor is of a gentle kind, and there are parts that I find very touching. Since that first viewing, I have watched the movie several times, and enjoy it more each time I see it. And it is one of those movies that, each time I see, I notice some little detail that brings me pleasure. I have never been able to sit through A TAXING WOMAN, but I enjoyed TAMPOPO; and I like THE FUNERAL even better.