80
Departures is built for simplicity, and, if nothing else, the appeal to decency and integrity of this sweetly old-fashioned tale make it a must for Bernie Madoff's prison Netflix queue.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
50
The New York Times by A.O. Scott
Overlong, predictable in its plotting and utterly banal in its blending of comic whimsy and melodramatic pathos.
80
It will absolutely delight the art-house crowd. Multiplexes will be crowded with noisy summer films, after all, from which Departures will represent a sophisticated and elegant departure.
50
New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein
It will resonate with anyone who has ever buried a loved one and struggled to reconcile the myriad emotions--grief, anger, helplessness. Which is to say, everyone. And yet out of this premise comes glop. Departures needed a little more work in the morgue--like cutting to the bone.
70
TV scribe Kundo Koyama's first bigscreen script peppers the proceedings with rich character detail and near-screwball interludes that shouldn't fit but somehow do.
90
Wall Street Journal by Joe Morgenstern
Beautiful moments abound. In Departures, the contemplation of death prepares the way for an appreciation of life.
42
Here's a great way to start savoring life: Don't waste it on pat manipulations like this.
67
Entertainment Weekly by Owen Gleiberman
Departures is tender and, at times, rather squishy. It's sure to squeeze the tear ducts of anyone who has lost a parent.
100
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
The movie is uncommonly absorbing.