The Funeral (1984)

"The day will turn into night"

The Funeral was Itami Juzo’s directorial debut in 1984. In this instance, the film is exactly as described in the title. For three days a family gathers to mourn the death of the father, bringing together a peculiar yet largely relatable group of people.

When Amamiya Shinkichi dies suddenly of a heart attack his son-in-law, Wabisuke Inoue is put in charge of the funeral. His mother-in-law, Kikue, wants the funeral to be held at the house near the Kamome Hot Springs. Inoue and his wife Chizuko know nothing about funerals and make a mad scramble to find help in figuring out all the customs and procedures. Everyone has an opinion on the various rituals, including which way the head should be facing and which way is north!

Itami showed many of the common funeral experiences regardless of customs--children unfamiliar with death playing in the background, laughter and tears as people process their complicated emotions, telling stories, arguing over procedures, and the financial costs. Then there were customs I was unfamiliar with—watching the loved one be cremated, salt being thrown on those returning from the crematorium, and the various Buddhist rituals. It was delightfully human that the relatives unused to kneeling for so long had cramping feet and knees. The funniest bit to me was when funeral novices Inoue and Chizuko consulted a video which might as well have been titled “Funeral Etiquette for Dummies.”

This appeared to be the first main film role for Miyamoto Nobuko, Itami’s wife. I found her face lovely and expressive. Ozu favorite, Ryu Chishu, played the ever-chanting priest with a fine eye for cars and expensive tile. Where the film lagged for me was a main married character dealing with his crazy mistress in the woods which included a fairly graphic sex scene. And she was cray-cray. The deceased was a serial philanderer that everyone accepted matter-of-factly.

The Funeral was a slow story with mostly gentle humor, showing both the reverence and irreverence that accompanies death and mourning. A far more pragmatic than sentimental experience-- because even at a wake, people need to know when to leave, how much money to donate, and how to tell a mistress to pull her weeping self off the casket.

27 September 2025
Triggers: Partial nudity and sex scene.

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I'm going to be honest. This move is really close to my heart so my review after seeing it umpteen times in over 30 years is probably a little skewed. Firstly, if you don't like dry and dark comedy, don't bother with The Funeral. You will not like it. If you are, shall I say, not prone to bawdiness or a little prissy, don't bother with The Funeral. HOWEVER. if you don't mind funeral jokes, seeing people insanely running through woods, and pretty much losing it over the death of the patriarch in their family, do bother with The Funeral.

Thirty years ago there weren't many movies like this. Because of this move I became a big fan of what I call the Funeral Comedy. I won't go to a funeral, but I'll watch a comedy about one anytime. Sad, but true. I had never seen anything quite like the Funeral, not in the US and certainly not coming out of Japan. The writer/director, Juzou Itami, was a genius that died before his time, but you can see his influence in other directors like Miike Takeshi. For Japanese film of the time there was nothing comparable in it's production (from writing to editing).

The story seems basic enough. An old man dies. His family gathers for a few days to make funeral preparations. Seems simple. Not really. That's when everything goes sideways. Bad for them. Good for the viewer. Some families just shouldn't get together no matter what the circumstance. The acting is great. Itami had a stable of actors, much like Woody Allen, who popped up in most if not all of his movies. Two of those actors, Tsutomu Yamazaki and Nobuko Miyamoto (Juzou's widow), give splendid performances. The entire cast is very good.

Admittedly, when I watch this now, I immediately think it's too slow. Eventually this gives way to what is a damn good movie.

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