The film observes a family over a three day period as they prepare a traditional Japanese funeral. I enjoyed the film* but having little knowledge of Japanese culture, I suspect that much of the subtle humour or commentary passed me by. As the film is billed as a 'comedy', I kept expecting it to veer off into the absurd, but that never happened. There are some unexpected moments (notably the affair in the woods or the viewing at the crematorium) but generally the story just moves along at a languid pace to the final, poignant speech by the widow. Similar to "Tampopo" (1985), the film is very sensual at times, with numerous scenes of food and eating, along with some quite 'tactile' scenes such as people's toes curling as they try to stay comfortable during the speeches. *an English-dubbed version on TCM
Review of The Funeral
