Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

The Funeral Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 7, 2023

If you're of a certain age, chances are you've had to deal with some kind of death in your family, perhaps even of one or both of your parents. In the case of parental demise in particular, it's one of those "life (and/or death, as the case may be) transitions" that is never easy, but has to be worked through, for better or worse. With such a fraught emotional environment at the core of The Funeral, which does in fact involve a woman and her family having to plan the "goodbye party" for her deceased father, it's kind of remarkable how sweet and often laugh out loud funny the film is. A march toward modernity often means a hasty exit from long held traditions, and one part of both the comedy and undeniable emotional pull of this film is just such a dialectic, with focal couple Chizuko (Nobuko Miyamoto) and Wabisuke (Tsutomu Yamazaki) are very much late 20th century types, working in Japan's television industry cranking out commercials as the story opens, who may be spectacularly ill prepared for anything "traditional". When Chizuko's supposedly martinet father Shinkichi Amamiya (Hideji Otaki) dies suddenly, the same day a "big city" doctor has proclaimed him to be as healthy as a horse, Chizuko and Wabisuke are suddenly thrust into a situation that requires both planning and the ability to deal with a number of extended family members.

Death and the formalities surrounding it, specifically in the funeral and/or burial categories, has actually been something of a staple in comedy, as unlikely as that may sound, in everything from The Loved One to another property somewhat similarly named to this one, Death at a Funeral. What is unique about The Funeral is its typically reserved Japanese surface quality which just barely masks some roiling interpersonal dynamics playing out just beneath. Some aspects, as in Wabisuke's kind of weirdly angry reaction to the desire of his mother-in-law Kikue (Kin Sugai) to have the funeral at a country home where she and Shinkichi had taken up residence after Wabisuke and Chizuko had stopped living there full time, may seem underdeveloped and/or well explained, but a lot of what ensues in this film has the feeling of "truth", with believable motivations even within a sometimes unabashedly comic context.

The Funeral was written and directed by Jûzô Itami, Nobuko Miyamoto's real life partner, and there's a certain "meta" aspect to the fact that Miyamoto's character in The Funeral is also an actress, and indeed Wabisuke is a director. That actually ends up playing (in both senses of the word "play") into the plot since Chizuko and Wabisuke basically have to "research their roles" as mourners and curators of a rather elaborate Buddhist ceremony. There's some very pointed humor at work in many of these scenes, including a great sequence where the two sit down to watch what is basically the 1980's equivalent of a Ted Talk instructing them how to act with whomever shows up to the funeral.

Some of the many sidebars in this film may frankly tip slightly over into farce territory, but there's still enough of a solidly realistic emotional aspect to things that even some potentially hyperbolic moments, like Wabisuke having to escape to a nearby forest for a quick assignation with his mistress, actually play more naturalistically than might be expected. There's really solid work by the entire cast, but a lot of the most heartfelt material probably understandably comes from Sugai, who has to navigate everything from deadpan comedy as when Kikue, kind of like her daughter and son-in-law, is being "instructed" in proper deportment during a photo shoot, to some actually beautifully written material later in the film where Kikue addresses at least part of what it's like to lose a lifetime partner.

There are some perhaps surprising stylistic flourishes on display throughout the film, including fun bits like forced perspective in a supposed commercial (see screenshot 4), to a "corpse POV" sequence (see screenshot 5) to a rather striking quasi-"Vertigo effect" moment that kind of humorously introduces a woman character on a deck. It's a kind of playful expertise that offers some visual allure while never being overly intrusive.

The Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Funeral is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of The Criterion Collection with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.33:1. Criterion's insert booklet contains the following information on the restoration:

The Funeral is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.33:1. This high definition digital restoration was undertaken by Itami Productions at Imagica Entertainment Media Serices, Inc.< in Toklyo.

It's kind of interesting that a film of this vintage was shot in Academy Ratio (more or less, anyway), but that may be a subliminal tip of the hat to the dialectic between modernity and tradition that the film's story itself repeatedly addresses. This is by and large a very nice looking transfer that preserves abundant fine detail, especially in close-ups (look at the nice textures on the knitting in screenshot 7 for one example). The palette is naturalistic most of the time, with only slight tips toward brown or yellow, moments which tend to be most noticeable in interior locations. A lot of the outdoor material pops beautifully with a really warm and resplendent palette. Grain resolves naturally throughout the presentation.

The Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Funeral features LPCM Mono audio in the original Japanese. There's frankly not a lot of complexity to the sound design in the film, but occasional use of elements like Bach's Air on a G String resonate very well, and dialogue as well as some occasional voiceover is always rendered cleanly and clearly. Optional English subtitles are available.

The Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Nobuko Miyamoto (HD; 26:03) is actually titled Blurring Boundaries and is an interview with the actress done in Tokyo in 2022, which covers a range of material related to both The Funeral in particular (including the context of her own father dying and having to make preparations for a funeral) but also her long collaboration with her husband in general. Subtitled in English.


• Manpei Ikeuchi (HD; 15:59) is titled A Sense of Comfort and is another 2022 interview done in Tokyo, with the child of Itami and Miyamoto. Subtitled in English.


• Creative Marriages: Jûzô Itami & Nobuko Miyamoto (HD; 10:52 is a really interesting episode from the Criterion Channel's Creative Marriages series. Done in 2018, this features critic Michael Sragow offering a good overview of the films of the pair, including of course The Funeral.


• Ichiroku Tart Commercials (HD; 6:03) is a collection of commercials that Jûzô Itami directed between 1980 and 1996 for Ichiroku Tart, a company headed by Yasushi Tamaoki. Tamaoki was a major "angel" for The Funeral, and Itami's later work. Subtitled in English.


• Trailers (HD; 3:44)

Additionally, Criterion provides an unusually well appointed insert booklet, with three pieces of writing, "At a Loss" by Pico Iyer, "From The Funeral Diary" by Jûzô Itami, and "Everything About Him Can Be Found in The Funeral: Tsutomu Yamazaki on Jûzô Itami". There's also the traditional cast and credits listing and information on the transfer along with technical credits.

The Funeral Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Having already buried both of my parents, and fairly recently helping my wife with planning for her father's funeral, a lot of The Funeral struck rather close to "home" for me personally, even with the cultural differences at play in the film. But it's that universality that may make The Funeral more than just a highly enjoyable curiosity. Criterion provides its typically commendable technical merits along with some very enjoyable supplements. Recommended.