When Yojiro Takita's
Departures won the 2008 Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, it was quite the underdog performance. First off,
Departures upset the presumptive favorite, Israel's
Waltz with Bashir. But perhaps more surprising, given the rich history of Japanese cinema, it also became the country's first victorious submission since the category opened to multiple entrants in 1956. (Foreign language achievement had previously been recognized only by honorary Oscars.) Akira Kurosawa brought home the Oscar in 1975 for
Dersu Uzala, but not to Japan -- the submitting country was the Soviet Union in that case. The film that finally broke th...
Released:
2008
Rated:
NR
Length:
131 mins