This is a brilliant film. Surely Juzo Itami's best. Cinematically complex and sophisticated. Emotionally poignant. I'll always remember the swinging log scene, contextualizing an adulterous affair. Also, the tracking shot of the soles of the kneeling family's feet, as they grow impatient with a sermon. You find out a little about each character, looking at the bottoms of their feet. So much is communicated with so little. It could be that I am missing some of the comedy, because I am not familiar with Japanese culture. But, in lieu of comedy, I found a poignant reflection on family dynamics, when estranged family members are reunited by a death. Poetic like Tarkovsky. Funny like Itami. This movie remains among my ten most favorite films.
Review of The Funeral
