MovieChat Forums > Okuribito (2009) Discussion > should have been a comedy

should have been a comedy

posted 15 years ago by jopD
8 replies | jump to latest

I laughed when i watched this movie. Plot of the movie = not so interesting. Terrific acting though. 4/10

a line is a dot that walks

[–] DogtownGirl 15 years ago

It was billed as a sensitively rendered (told) comedy! The first part of this film when the leading man was learning to be a coffiner, and to love his job, as well respect the dead, was hilarious. The second part of this film was most moving. I cried thru'out much of it, especially during the cremation scene when a grieving husband was allowed to watch his wife being incinerated, and noticing how reverentially the fellow who ran the "oven" (if you will) looked when the grieving husband broke down.

[–] MyNameIsJoel 15 years ago

I actually cried too at this film, which was surprising as I have never before cried while watching a film. It was so well done and the rituals were so beautiful. The film just appeared to resonate sheer humanity throughout.

Also, just to clarify, the one that chose to watch was the son of the bathhouse owner. The same man who kept trying to get her to sell so that condominiums could be developed. It was so moving feeling his regret for the pain he must've caused her. Many of us have felt that feeling before.

[–] DogtownGirl 15 years ago

Hi, Joel:

Hang on, wait up .... You mean the guy that pushed the button to start the crematorium / oven, was the son of the bath-house owner ... the woman who died, right? The guy that wore the uniform was the fellow to whom I was referring.

Glad you also liked the film. Yes, it resonated humanity thru'out, didn't it?

[–] AngryTypingGuy 15 years ago

The only way I could see this film as a comedy is in the same way Life is Beautiful was billed as a comedy, which I still don't understand why it was.

[–] oneseat 15 years ago

I wouldn't call it a comedy either, though I loved the comedic moments. Like others, I came away from this film more moved than tickled.

/sidebar: it might meet the requirements of the classical (Western) comedy, in the requirement that a young couple meet obstacles to their union and eventually overcome them to be joyously united./

I wonder who billed it as a comedy: its Western distributors, cynically trying to get more viewers, or its Japanese/Asian promoters, understanding something I don't about Japanese/Asian comedy. Japanese/Asian perspectives would be appreciated here.

[–] legendlength 13 years ago

I'm also struggling to work out why it's classed as a comedy. Sure, comedy is subjective, but I didn't get even close to a chuckle from it.

[–] fatclyde_uk 13 years ago

It's comedy watching you lot struggling to accept a fabulous film on its own terms just because it doesn't have a helpful genre handle you can grasp on to.

[–] SamoanJoes 8 years ago

There are a lot of comedic moments in the film (certainly none of them were laugh out loud), but this definitely would not have worked as a comedy. There's a certain beauty they give about death in this movie that couldn't have been conveyed as a comedy.