engrossing film of a young Japanese musician whose orchestra is disbanded, moves back to his village to live in his mother's home, becomes an encoffiner, corpse dresser. meditative, thoughtful, ritualistic, moving, a zen ode to respect of the living and dead.. one of the most moving of Japan. Winner of 33 awards (10 Japanese acad awards), incl 15 for director Takita, and several for lead actor Masahiro Motoki..

Along with Andrei Rublev, the most rewarding of Tarkovsky's often bewildering and boring (Sacrifice, Stalker, Solaris - avoid the S titles!) films.. a true artist, this one maintained my interest througout. Don't you love that the still for Sacrifice is the film's finale? They did this on the dvd cover for Bridge on the River Kwai as well -- Too funny - INSTANT SPOILERS..

Beautifully shot, black and white cinematography at its finest - this film has a delicate light that's almost ethereal at times. Thanks for showing this one, Varda is an artist!