The Funeral
The Funeral
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2h 4m
Directed by Juzo Itami • 1984 • Japan
Starring Nobuko Miyamoto, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Chishu Ryu
It’s death, Japanese style, in the rollicking and wistful first feature from maverick writer-director Juzo Itami. In the wake of her father’s sudden passing, a successful actor (Itami’s wife and frequent collaborator, Nobuko Miyamoto) and her lascivious husband (Tsutomu Yamazaki) leave Tokyo and return to her family home to oversee a traditional funeral. Over the course of three days of mourning that bring illicit escapades in the woods, a surprisingly materialistic priest (Chishu Ryu), and cinema’s most epic sandwich handoff, the tensions between public propriety and private hypocrisy are laid bare. Deftly weaving dark comedy with poignant family drama, THE FUNERAL is a fearless satire of the clash between old and new in Japanese society in which nothing, not even the finality of death, is off-limits.
Up Next in The Funeral
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Manpei Ikeuchi on THE FUNERAL
In this interview, shot in Tokyo in 2022, Manpei Ikeuchi talks about appearing in THE FUNERAL and the creative life of his parents, Juzo Itami and Nobuko Miyamoto.
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Nobuko Miyamoto on THE FUNERAL
In this interview, filmed in Tokyo in 2022, actor Nobuko Miyamoto discusses the making of THE FUNERAL; the evolution of her husband, Juzo Itami, as a filmmaker; and their extraordinary collaboration.
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Creative Marriages: Juzo Itami & Nobu...
This director-actor duo collaborated on a string of genre-bending films anchored by fiercely independent women.
