As the narrator was an actor and the son in law of Shinkichi and Kikue, the narrator recalls how he was enthralled by a tale of passion and emotions. At the start of the heartwarming and hilarious tale, the couple had been discussing about their new life, when things take a shocking turn as Shinkichis heart gives up and the couple is left snowed into despair. Wabisuke, their son-in-law, was filming a commercial together with his wife Chizuko when he received the news. Together they decide to set up the funeral in the couple’s house, alongside all the desired rituals and even the three day event. They were tasked in hiring a priest, preparing a coffin, hosting a wake for the relatives and finally, holding the funeral where they were supposed to say their goodbyes.
The couple’s manager, Satomi, along with their funeral planner, Ebihara, reluctantly helped to plan everything, but only to get a little money out of it, but step by step, the two went through everything. With many other family members in the house including a drunken mistress, multiple kids running around and an uncle that dedicated himself towards tradition made everything more and more frustrating and difficult.
Juzo Itami tackles the dichotomy plaguing the Japanese nation by creating a film that captures the narrators style which is focus on tradition and how it negatively affected the newer generation. He goes on to answer how there was still an etiquette that needed to be followed and how the deeply ingrained traditions restricted everyone. This in turn allows the movie to become comedic.
Itami focuses on troubling currents within the nation, specifically how there are many men who act as disoriented. The religious figure offering charter in the Royce while looking for donations to be made. The planner seeking up selling strategies for the funeral. Spending cuts being the norm. The uncle making a statement on the importance of tradition, while cheating on his wife. To add to this list, there is a case of drunkenness and thievery.
While the fable approach to what is taking place basically remains the same from the start to the very end, still towards the end of the movie Itami begins to head in much more dramatic directions, inasmuch as the conclusion of the rite is taking place as well. The Uncle’s speech and, even more so, the newly widow’s speech stand among the best (acting) moments of the film, with Hideji Otaki and Kin Sugai respectively excelling at the particular moments. Wabisuke Tsutomu Yamazaki’s acting as Wabisuke does emphasize rather well his desire not to be in the thick of things during all the events, while Nobuko Miyamoto having acted as Chizuko also impresses just how people can see everything that is going on yet decide they will just sit tight and wait for it all to blow over.
In addition, it is important to note that the funeral procedures are presented in a highly plausible manner and with great detail to the context, right from the nurses` bowings in the hospital to the dead being set on fire, to the extent that this film can almost be regarded as a cinematographic examination of a specific context. Close-ups and intense zooming in on the faces of different protagonists dominate the cinematography of Yonezo Maeda, and all this adds a degree of intimacy to the ongoing action. Along with that, the coloring throughout the movie is also remarkable, although a short home video shot in black-and-white can be described as stylish, albeit making it a little out of place in feel when you compare it with the rest of the scenes. The editing of Akira Suzuki gives pacing to the movie that is faster than is necessary for the purpose of constructing episodic slices, but only in theory since in practice the general pace of the movie is not suited for this many episodes anyway and would be nice if they cut down the number of segments.
“The Funeral” is an effortlessly charming film that explores the workings of the Japanese after a family member has died as well as the remarks made by Itami, which are far more helpful than simple statements about family. Itami also showcased his ability to deal with insanity and hilarity in the same breath.
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